Coulomb excitation of the 242mAm isomer

The 242mAm isomer, a well-known candidate for photo-depopulation research, has been studied in this first ever Coulomb excitation of a nearly pure (∼ 98%) isomer target. Thirty new states, including a new rotational band built on a Kπ = 6- state have been identified. Strong K-mixing results in nearly equal populations of the Kπ = 5- and 6- states. Newly identified states have been assigned to the Kπ = 3- rotational band, the lowest states of which are known to decay into the ground-state band. Implications regarding K-mixing and Coulomb excitation paths to the ground state are discussed