Lifetime measurements of triaxial strongly deformed bands in Tm-163

With the Doppler Shift Attenuation Method, quadrupole transition moments Q(t) were determined for the two recently proposed triaxial strongly deformed (TSD) bands in Tm-163. The measured Q(t) values indicate that the deformation of these bands is larger than that of the yrast signature partners. However, the measured values are smaller than those predicted by theory. This observation appears to be valid for TSD bands in several nuclei of the region.