Spin alignment in the particle-rotor and cranking models

It is shown that the cranking model normally gives a smaller rotation-aligned spin for an odd quasiparticle than the particle-rotor model, especially at low rotational frequencies. The basic reason is found to be that the rotational frequency vector of the cranking model is “sharp”. This is an unphysical model property, and in the presence of a particle whose rotational motion is partly decoupled from the rotational motion of the average field its consequences become serious. A “sharp” rotational frequency corresponds to a neglect of the recoil effect that establishes coherence between the motion of the decoupled nucleon and the other nucleons and therefore is a prerequisite for the conservation of angular momentum. In conclusion the cranking model cannot be invoked to explain the so-called “Coriolis attenuation”, relative to the particle-rotor model, that is observed experimentally. Particle-rotor calculations are carried out into the backbending region of some well-deformed rare-earth nuclei, and the results indicate that the “Coriolis attenuation” effect is weak or absent at high rotational frequencies. However, the experimental $\text{i}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>13</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}$, unfavoured band of ¹⁶⁷Yb is found to exhibit an anomalous “downbending” behaviour.