Inelastic neutron scattering on ¹⁶⁰Gd

The nature of low-lying excitations, K^π=0⁺ bands in deformed nuclei remain enigmatic in the field, especially in relationship to quadrupole vibrations. One method of characterizing these states beyond excitation energies is through measurements of absolute transition probabilities. In the rare earth region of deformation, there are five stable Gd isotopes, ¹⁵⁴Gd, ¹⁵⁶Gd, and ¹⁵⁸Gd have been studied to obtain B(E2) values, a fourth, ¹⁶⁰Gd is the focus of this work. We have examined ¹⁶⁰Gd with the (n, n′γ) reaction and neutron energies up to 3.0 MeV to confirm known 0⁺ states.