Identification of excited states in 119Ba

Excited states have been identified in the very neutron-deficient 119Ba nucleus. Two bands have been observed, which are likely to be based on h11/2 and (g7/2d5/2) neutron orbitals. Despite this being the first observation of excited states in 119Ba, the bands extend to (75/2)ℏ and (79/2)ℏ, respectively. The bands have been assigned to 119Ba using gamma-recoil and gamma-x-ray coincidences. Several quasiparticle alignments have been identified, involving neutron (h11/2)2 and proton (h11/2)2 aligned configurations. Furthermore, the bands show features which are reasonably consistent with smooth band termination at high spin. Theoretical results for 119Ba are discussed within the framework of cranked Woods-Saxon and Nilsson-Strutinsky calculations.