Near-yrast structures in odd-odd ¹²²I nucleus

Excited states of the odd-odd nucleus ¹²²I are investigated via the fusion-evaporation reaction ¹¹⁶Cd(¹¹B, 5n) at a beam energy of 68 MeV. The two most strongly populated bands in ¹²²I are observed up to excitation energies around 10.5 MeV. Their possible configurations at lower spins are assigned to πh_11/2⊗νh_11/2 and πh_11/2⊗νd_5/2 based on the observed population, B(M1)/B(E2) values, alignments and signature splitting. E1 transitions are observed connecting the πh_11/2⊗νd_5/2 band to the πh_11/2⊗νh_11/2 band, which may be evidence of octupole collectivity. Band terminations caused by the full alignment of the valence nucleons outside the ¹¹⁴Sn core are observed in both bands. (authors)