Excited states in ;{152}Sm have been investigated with the ;{152}Sm(n,n;{'}gamma) reaction. The lowest four negative-parity band structures have been characterized in detail with respect to their absolute decay properties. Specifically, a new K;{pi} = 0;{-} band has been assigned with its 1;{-} band head at 1681 keV. This newly observed band has a remarkable similarity in its E1 transition rates for decay to the first excited K;{pi} = 0;{+} band at 684 keV to the lowest K;{pi} = 0;{-} band and its decay to the ground-state band. Based on these decay properties, as well as energy considerations, this new band is assigned as a K;{pi} = 0;{-} octupole excitation based on the K;{pi} = 0_{2};{+} state. An emerging pattern of repeating excitations built on the 0_{2};{+} level similar to those built on the ground state may indicate that ;{152}Sm is a complex example of shape coexistence rather than a critical point nucleus.

The 685 keV excitation energy of the first excited 0 + state in 152 Sm makes it an attractive candidate to explore expected two-phonon excitations at low energy. Multiple-step Coulomb excitation and inelastic neutron scattering studies of 152 Sm are used to probe the E2 collectivity of excited 0 + states in this "soft" nucleus and the results are compared with model predictions. No candidates for two-phonon K π = 0 + quadrupole vibrational states are found. A 2 + , K = 2 state with strong E2 decay to the first excited K π = 0 + band and a probable 3 + band member are established.

Nuclear model calculations of discrete γ -ray production cross sections produced in 48 Ti(n, n γ i ) 48 Ti and 48 Ti(n, 2nγ i ) 47 Ti reactions were made as a function of incident neutron energy from E n = 1 MeV to 35 MeV and compared with new experimental results using the large-scale Compton-suppressed germanium array for neutron induced excitations (GEANIE) at LANSCE. The Hauser-Feshbach reaction code GNASH, incorporating the spin distribution for the preequilibrium process calculated with the FeshbachKerman-Koonin (FKK) quantum-mechanical preequilibrium theory, was used to calculate partial γ -ray transition cross sections. The comparisons of calculated and experimental data demonstrate that, the FKK model for preequilibrium leads a better overall reproduction of the experimental data above E n = 10 MeV, where preequilibrium processes are important. The FKK calculation predicts a strong reduction in the high-spin state population in 48 Ti by inelastic scattering. Population of low-spin states was also affected, however the change in the low-lying 983.5-keV (2 + ) state production is small because almost all γ -ray decay cascades feed this transition. In addition, the FKK calculation has a significant impact on the partial γ -ray transition cross sections for the (n, 2n) reaction above E n = 15 MeV. The calculated cross sections for high-spin states in 47 Ti are reduced, and those from the low-spin states are enhanced, in agreement with the experimental cross section data.