In-beam study of 136Ce and 138Nd isotones with N = 78

Excited states in ¹³⁶Ce and ¹³⁸Nd have been investigated by means of in-beam spectroscopy with the (p, 4nγ) reaction. Excitation functions and angular distributions of γ-rays were measured with a Ge(Li) detector, and conversion electron spectra were taken with a magnetic spectrometer. Time-dependent spectra of γ-rays revealed delayed components with half-lives of 2.2μsec and 0.41μsec in ¹³⁶Ce and ¹³⁸Nd, respectively. Most of the excited states are classified as belonging to the quasi-ground-state rotational band and the quasi-gamma band. Negative parity 5^? and 7^? states were also observed.