The spectral characteristics of the L π = 0 + excited-states in the interacting boson model are systematically investigated. It is found that various types of excited-state quantum phase transitions may widely occur in the model as functions of the excitation energy, which indicates that the phase diagram of the interacting boson model can be dynamically extended along the direction of the excitation energy. It has also been justified that the d-boson occupation probability ρ(E) is qualified to be taken as the effective order parameter to identify these excited-state quantum phase transitions. In addition, the underlying relation between the excite-state quantum phase transition and the chaotic dynamics is also stated.

Some binding-energy-related quantities serving as effective order parameters have been used to analyze the shape phase transition in the odd Sm nuclei. It is found that the signals of phase transition in the odd Sm nuclei are greatly enhanced in contrast to the even Sm nuclei. A further analysis shows that the transitional behaviors related to pairing in the Sm nuclei can be well described by the mean field plus pairing interaction model, with a monotonic decrease in the pairing strength G.