DECAY AND PROPERTIES OF THE YRAST SUPERDEFORMED BAND IN PB-192

The Yb-173(Mg-24,5n) reaction at E(Mg-24) = 134.5 MeV with a gold-back ed target was used to populate high-angular momentum states in Pb-192. Resulting gamma rays were detected with Gammasphere located at the 88 -Inch Cyclotron. A discrete transition of energy E-gamma = 2057.7(6) k eV has been identified in the depopulation the yrast superdeformed (SD ) band in Pb-192. This transition has been tentatively placed in the l evel scheme based on coincidence relationships. Thus, the excitation e nergy of the SD level populated by the 262-keV in-band transition is t entatively assigned E-x = 4.572(1) MeV. Confidence limits are discusse d. Other transitions in coincidence with the SD band and general featu res of the band and its decay are also presented. In particular, we co nfirm that the J((2)) of the SD band decreases by approximate to 13% a t the lowest frequency. Also, by comparing the masses of the SD ground states in (192),Pb-194 to liquid drop model expectations and to each other we have been able to confirm enhanced stability for N = 112 at s uperdeformation.