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The 685 keV excitation energy of the first excited 0+ state in 152Sm makes it an attractive candidate to explore expected two-phonon excitations at low energy. Multiple-step Coulomb excitation and inelastic neutron scattering studies of 152Sm are used to probe the E2 collectivity of excited 0+ states in this "soft" nucleus and the results are compared with model predictions. No candidates for two-phonon K=0+ quadrupole vibrational states are found. A 2+, K=2 state with strong E2 decay to the first excited K=0+ band and a probable 3+ band member are established., Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication as a Rapid Communication in Physical Review C

Experimental studies of 152Sm using multiple-step Coulomb excitation and inelastic neutron scattering provide key data that clarify the low-energy collective structure of this nucleus. No candidates for two-phonon beta-vibrational states are found. Experimental level energies of the ground-state and first excited (0+ state) rotational bands, electric monopole transition rates, reduced quadrupole transition rates, and the isomer shift of the first excited 2+ state are all described within ~10% precision using two-band mixing calculations. The basic collective structure of 152Sm is described using strong mixing of near-degenerate coexisting quasi-rotational bands with different deformations., Comment: 8 single-spaced, single-column pages, 4 figures, 1 table. Submitted to Physical Review Letters