Second backbending in the yrast line of 156Er

High spin yrast states of ¹⁵⁶Er were investigated using the reactions ¹⁴¹Pr(¹⁹F,4nγ) and ¹²³Sb(³⁷Cl, 4nγ), the latter in connection with a sum-crystal. In addition to the backbending at $\text{I = 12}\text{h}\text{?}$, a second one is found at $\text{I = 26}\text{h}\text{?}\text{;}$ and the yrast band is extended up to $\text{I = 32}\text{h}\text{?}\text{;}$. These results are interpreted in terms of a Hartree-Fock-Bogolyubov Cranking (HFBC) method. It is demonstrated that for deformations in the vicinity of the Strutinsky equilibrium deformation, both a 2qp proton band crossing the yrast band or a 4qp neutron band crossing the yrast band can cause strong secondary backbending.