Reflection asymmetric states in Nd-146

High-spin states in Nd-146 up to an excitation energy of 7.4 MeV were studied via the Xe-136(C-13,3n gamma) reaction. A quasi-rotational band consisting of alternating parity levels connected by fast El transitions is found, indicating strong octupole correlations in this nucleus. We find its vibrational character at low spins evolves towards a permanent octupole deformation at medium spins where a simplex quantum number s = +1 can be assigned to the ground-state band. Another quasi-rotational structure of states of unnatural parity, in the spin range 10 to 16 is tentatively identified to have simplex quantum number s = -1. Measured B(E1)/B(E2) ratios show the largest intrinsic dipole moment in this mass region in good agreement with theoretical predictions.