Gamma-ray spectroscopy of nuclei with large deformations. Results from GAMMASPHERE

The large multidetector gamma-ray arrays (such as GAMMASPHERE, EUROBALL, and GASP) have played a central role in nuclear-structure studies during the past decade. In this paper I discuss recent results from experiments on nuclei with very large deformations, including: the measurement of the spins, parities, and excitation energies of superdeformed bands in 152Dy; the observation of extreme deformations in 108Cd and the evidence for hyper-intruder states; the study of superdeformed nuclei around A ∝40, which provide an opportunity to test our microscopic understanding of collective excitations; and lifetimes of strongly deformed triaxial bands in 163Lu. I conclude with a brief discussion on the next generation gamma-ray detector array, GRETA. (orig.)