First Identification of Excited States in 84-86Nb
We report on the observation of excited states in the niobium isotope with masses 84, 85 and 86. These nuclei lie in the shape transition region known to occur in nuclei with 35 less-than-or-equal-to Z less-than-or-equal-to 40 and N = 45. Unambiguous identification was achieved by detecting gamma-rays in coincidence with mass-separated recoils produced in heavy-ion fusion reactions. Rotational ban