Delayed backbending in the ?h9/2 band of 187Ir

High-spin states of 187Ir have been populated in the 176Yb(15N, 4n) reaction and measured with the YRAST Ball spectrometer. The ?h9/2 rotational band has been extended beyond the first alignment crossing, which was found at rotational frequency ??c ? 0.39 MeV. Two different scenarios for describing this crossing are considered: The alignment of an h9/2 proton or i13/2 neutron pair and it is concluded that a proton band crossing is more likely. A systematic study of the rotational alignment crossings in the ?h9/2 bands in the N=104, 106, 108 isotopes of 73Ta, 75Re, 77Ir, and 79Au is presented