Rotational bands with terminating properties in 59Ni -: art. no. 061302

Highly-deformed rotational bands were established in Ni-59 using the Ca-40(Si-29,2p2alpha)Ni-59 reaction. Lifetime measurements indicate that transition quadrupole moments of two of these bands decrease as they smoothly approach their maximum-spin states. The configurations of these bands as well as their band-terminating features are discussed based on configuration-dependent cranked Nilsson-Strutinsky calculations. These calculations indicate that, unlike similar bands observed previously in the region, the two bands in Ni-59 maintain significant collectivity at their I=I-max states.