Decoupled two-quasiparticle bands and backbending in174W and172Hf

Abstract
Negative parity sidebands have been observed to high spin in the N=100 isotones 174W and 172Hf. Their high and constant moment of inertial and decay characteristics, identify them as semi-decoupled bands, probably of a configuration involving a p3/2 or h9/2 neutron and an i13/2 neutron. The character of these bands is used to estimate the properties of the (i13/2)2 neutron band responsible for backbending and, through a two-band mixing calculation, the details of backbending.