Long-lived K isomer and enhanced gamma vibration in the neutron-rich nucleus 172Dy: Collectivity beyond double midshell

The level structure of 172Dy has been investigated for the first time by means of decay spectroscopy following in-flight fission of a 238U beam. A long-lived isomeric state with T1/2 = 0.71(5) s and K π = 8 − has been identified at 1278 keV, which decays to the ground-state and γ-vibrational bands through hindered electromagnetic transitions, as well as to the daughter nucleus 172Ho via allowed β decays. The robust nature of the K π = 8 − isomer and the ground-state rotational band reveals an axially-symmetric structure for this nucleus. Meanwhile, the γ-vibrational levels have been identified at unusually low excitation energy compared to the neighboring well-deformed nuclei, indicating the significance of the microscopic effect on the non-axial collectivity in this doubly mid-shell region. The underlying mechanism of enhanced γ vibration is discussed in comparison with the deformed Quasiparticle Random-Phase Approximation based on a Skyrme energy-density functional