Low-lying levels in the nuclei 151Nd and 155Sm

Decay properties of excited states in the 151Nd and 155Sm nuclei produced by 10 MeV deuterons have been investigated with in-beam gamma-gamma-coincidence equipment during bombardment of the 150Nd and 154Sm targets. The measurements largely confirm the data obtained earlier for these nuclei. The (d, pγ) reaction channel favors population of odd-parity low-spin levels, whose energies follow the rule of regular band structure for well-deformed nuclei. The level schemes are interpreted with calculations using an axial particle-rotor model with a Woods-Saxon potential. (orig.)