Hindered E4 decay of the 12+ yrast trap in 52Fe

The γ decay of the 12+ yrast trap in 52Fe has been measured for the first time. The two E4 γ-branches to the 8+ states are hindered with respect to other B(E4) reduced transition probabilities measured in the f7/2 shell. The interpretation of the data is given in the full pf shell model framework, comparing the results obtained with different residual interactions. It is shown that measurements of hexadecapole transition probabilities constitute a powerful tool in discriminating the correct configuration of the involved wavefunctions.