Evidence for shape coexistence at medium spin in 76Rb

Four previously known rotational bands in 76Rb have been extended to moderate spins using the Gammasphere and Microball γ ray and charged particle detector arrays and the 40Ca(40Ca, 3pn) reaction at a beam energy of 165 MeV. The properties of two of the negative-parity bands can only readily be interpreted in terms of the highly successful Cranked Nilsson-Strutinsky model calculations if they have the same configuration in terms of the number of g9/2 particles, but they result from different nuclear shapes (one near-oblate and the other near-prolate). These data appear to constitute a unique example of shape coexisting structures at medium spins.