Two-quasiparticle K-isomers and pairing strengths in the neutron-rich isotopes Er and Er

Isomeric two-quasiparticle states have been identified in the neutron-rich isotopes ¹⁷²Er and ¹⁷⁴Er using multi-nucleon transfer reactions with ¹³⁶Xe beams incident on various targets, and γ  -ray spectroscopy with Gammasphere. A candidate for the Kπ=⁶⁺$K^{\pi }=6^{+}$ two-quasineutron state in ¹⁷²Er is found at 1500 keV. In ¹⁷⁴Er, a nuclide whose level scheme was previously unknown, a long-lived isomer is identified at 1112 keV decaying via an inhibited E1 transition and revealing the yrast sequence of ¹⁷⁴Er. This isomer is proposed to be a Kπ=⁸⁻$K^{\pi }=8^{-}$ two-quasineutron state, defining a sequence in the N=106$N=106$ isotones extending from the well-deformed neutron-rich isotope ¹⁷⁴Er to the neutron-deficient isotope ¹⁸⁸Pb, where the presence of the isomer signifies a prolate minimum in an otherwise spherical well. Configuration-constrained potential-energy surface calculations are used to predict the excitation energies of the 6⁺ and 8⁻ intrinsic states and as a basis for extracting the pairing force strength, Gn$G_n$, in the N=104$N=104$ and N=106$N=106$ isotones.