Spin- and parity-resolved level densities from the fine structure of giant resonances

Level densities of J(pi)=2(+) and 2(-) states extracted from high-resolution studies of E2 and M2 giant resonances in Ni-58 and Zr-90 are used to test recent predictions of a possible parity dependence. The experimental results are compared to a combinatorial approach based on the Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov model and to shell-model Monte Carlo calculations including both spin and parity projection. No parity dependence is observed experimentally, which is in agreement for Zr-90 but in contrast with the model predictions for Ni-58.