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Detailed information on isomeric states in A ≈ 135 nuclei is exploited to benchmark shell-model calculations in the region northwest of doubly-magic nucleus 132Sn. The N = 79 isotones 133Xe and 135Ba are studied after multinucleon transfer (MNT) in the 136Xe + 208Pb reaction employing the high-resolution Advanced GAmma Tracking Array (AGATA) coupled to the magnetic spectrometer PRISMA at the Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro, Italy and in a pulsed-beam experiment at the FN tandem accelerator of the University of Cologne, Germany utilizing a 9Be+130Te fusion-evaporation reaction at a beam energy of 40 MeV. Isomeric states are identified via delayed γ-ray spectroscopy. Hitherto tentative excitation energy, spin, and parity assignments of the 2107-keV Jπ = 23/2+ isomer in 133Xe are confirmed and a half-life of T1/2 = 8.64(13) ms is measured. The 2388-keV state in 135Ba is identified as a Jπ = 23/2+ isomer with a half-life of 1.06(4) ms. The new results show a smooth onset of isomeric Jπ = 23/2+ states along the N = 79 isotones and close a gap in the high-spin systematics towards the recently investigated Jπ = 23/2+ isomer in 139Nd. The resulting systematics of M2 reduced transition probabilities is discussed within the framework of the nuclear shell model. Latest large-scale shell-model calculations employing the SN100PN, GCN50:82, SN100-KTH, and a realistic effective interaction reproduce the experimental findings generally well and give insight into the structure of the isomers.

The transitional nucleus 131Xe is investigated after multinucleon transfer (MNT) in the 136Xe+208Pb and 136Xe+238U reactions employing the high-resolution Advanced GAmma Tracking Array (AGATA) coupled to the magnetic spectrometer PRISMA at the Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro, Italy and as an elusive reaction product in the fusion-evaporation reaction 124Sn(11B,p3n) 131Xe employing the HORUS γ-ray array coupled to a double-sided silicon strip detector (DSSSD) at the University of Cologne, Germany. The level scheme of 131Xe is extended to 5 MeV. A pronounced backbending is observed at ~ω ≈ 0.4 MeV along the negative-parity one-quasiparticle νh11/2(α = −1/2) band. The results are compared to the high-spin systematics of the Z = 54 isotopes and the N = 77 isotones. Large-scale shell-model calculations (LSSM) employing the PQM130, SN100PN, GCN50:82, SN100-KTH and a realistic effective interaction reproduce the experimental findings and provide guidance to elucidate the structure of the high-spin states. Further calculations in 129−132Xe provide insight into the changing nuclear structure along the Xe chain towards the N = 82 shell closure. Proton occupancy in the π 0h11/2 orbital is found to be decisive for the description of the observed backbending phenomenon.