Studies of Decay Schemes in the Osmium-Iridium Region. III. Decay of 15.8-HourIr186

Abstract
The decay of 15.8-h Ir186 was studied with a double-focusing electron spectrometer, a lens spectrometer, and scintillation spectrometers. Several coincidence experiments were also performed. About two-thirds of the 101 transitions observed could be fitted into a level scheme for Os186 consisting of a ground-state (K=0) band, a K=2 (gamma-vibrational) band, and several other levels. The positron spectrum shows at least two branches; the branch with the highest end-point energy (1.94±0.02 MeV) populates the I=6, K=0, state at 0.869 MeV. The total positron intensity is (2.5±0.7)%. The most probable spin assignment for Ir186 (15.8-h) is 7. Energies of the collective levels of Os186, and relative transition probabilities, are discussed in the framework of the existing knowledge of other even-A osmium isotopes, and are compared with the predictions of the band-mixed strong coupling model and of various versions of the asymmetric rotor model. An appendix gives data accumulated during the course of this work on transitions following the decay of Ir185 and of Ir187.