Octupole-deformed molecular bands in 21Ne

Cluster states up to 12 MeV in the stable light nucleus Ne-21, based on the O-16 + n + alpha molecular configurations, have been populated in the incomplete-fusion reaction O-16(8)(Li-7(3), np)(10)Ne-21 at 29.4 MeV. The observation of both intra- and inter-band transitions leads to a re-interpretation of some levels in the K-pi = 3/2(-) and K-pi = 1/2(-)bands. The implications of this re-ordering on the octupole doublet bands are examined. The data allow a more accurate determination of some previously uncertain level energies. The missing I-pi = 5/2(-) level is also discussed.