Coriolis attenuation in the rare earth region

It is shown that the observed rotational band structure in a number of odd-proton and odd-neutron nuclei situated in the rare earth region, can be reproduced in the particle-rotor model without any ad hoc reduction of the Coriolis matrix elements if a value of the pairing gap parameter, which is about 30–40% of that deduced from the corresponding odd-even mass difference, is used. The importance of the proper choice of the pairing gap parameter in the study of the Coriolis attenuation problem is emphasised.