Prompt γ-ray cascades in neutron-rich nuclei around doubly-magic 132 Sn have been studied using a 248 Cm fission source. Yrast states located in the N = 82 isotones 134 Te and 135 I are interpreted as valence proton and neutron particlehole core excitations with the help of shell model calculations employing empirical nucleon-nucleon interactions from both 132 Sn and 208 Pb regions. 21.60.Cs; 23.20.Lv; 25.85.Ca; 27.60.+j What we know about the 132 Sn nucleus and its neighbors comes mainly from β − decay studies of short-lived radionuclides produced in fission of actinides; consequently our knowledge about simple excitation modes, single particle energies, effective nucleon-nucleon interactions and other basic properties in this region is far from complete. The large multidetector γ-ray arrays, which can separate the prompt γ-ray cascades within a single fission product nucleus (of moderate yield) from the bulk of prompt γ-rays, have now opened new prospects for detailed studies of yrast excitations in 132 Sn and the few valence particle nuclei around it. The spectroscopy of 132 Sn and its neighbors should in many ways resemble that of the well studied nuclei around Z = 82, N = 126 208 Pb, and comparisons of experimental data from these and other magic regions would help the development of a "universal" theoretical description of shell model properties.
PACS:The measurements reported here were performed at Eurogam II using a 248 Cm source which delivered ∼6.3x10 4 fissions/sec. Eurogam II at the time consisted of 52 escapesuppressed spectrometers incorporating 124 Ge detector elements, here augmented by four LEPS spectrometers; in total, 2x10 9 threefold or higher-fold coincidence events were recorded. The excellent quality and high selectivity of the triple coincidence γ-ray data made it possible to identify even weak transitions in the nuclei of interest extending over the Z = 50−54, N = 80−84 range. Cross coincidences observed between γ-rays from partner light and heavy fission products were often of key importance in establishing isotopic assignments for previously unknown cascades; in other cases, some On leave from: Institute of Nuclear Physics, Kracow, Poland overlap with the γ-rays known from β-decay provided vital first clues. The findings for only two of these nuclei -the twoand three-proton N = 82 isotones 134 Te and 135 I -are presented here, but results for other fission products around 132 Sn will also be forthcoming.In the two-proton nucleus 134 Te, many members of the πg 7/2 2 , πg 7/2 d 5/2 and πg 7/2 h 11/2 multiplets are known from 134 Sb β − decay studies, especially the recent work of Omtvedt et al. [1]. The present fission product measurements identified two dominant high-energy γ-rays feeding the 1691 keV πg 7/2 2 6 + state in 134 Te, one the 2322 keV 9 − →6 + E3 transition known from β-decay [1], the other a 2866 keV γ-ray from a 134 Te level at 4557 keV. Gating on this 2866 keV γ-ray revealed many new 134 Te γ-rays, and the full γγγ results established the level sequence above 4557 keV ...