Population of high-spin states in U-234 by an incomplete-fusion reaction -art. no. 067301

Excited states in U-234 have been populated using the incomplete-fusion rea ction Th-232(Be-9,alpha 3n) at 52 MeV. The emitted gamma rays were observed using the CAESAR array, while the ct particles were detected with an array of 14 plastic scintillator detectors of phoswich type. This reaction can p opulate U-234 at higher spin than the conventional Th-232(alpha,2n) reactio n because the ''He-5'' fragment from breakup of the beam can be viewed as i nitiating a Th-232(He-5,3n) reaction. Similar reactions could provide a Val uable alternative technique for the study of relatively heavy, neutron-rich isotopes. In the present work, states in the ground-state band of U-234 we re observed up to J(pi)=18(+) and previous tentative observations of (9(-)) and (11(-)) states in the octupole band were confirmed. A new state at 136 6 keV, which is possibly the 8(+) member of the gamma band, has also been i dentified. [S0556-2813(99)02911-8].