Evidence for rigid triaxial deformation at low energy in 76Ge

Excited states of Ge-76 have been populated in above-barrier Coulomb excitation and inelastic scattering of a 530-MeV Ge-76 beam on a U-238 target and studied using in-beam gamma-ray spectroscopy with the Gammasphere array. The gamma band was extended considerably and one new band was identified. Comparisons of the gamma band with collective- and shell-model calculations suggest that Ge-76 may be a rare example of a nucleus exhibiting rigid triaxial deformation in the low-lying states. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevC.87.041304