Multiparticle configurations in N=84 isotones located at the proton drip line

Excited states in the proton-rich N=84 isotones Hf-156(72)84, Ta-157(73)84, and W-158(74)84 were observed using Pd-102(Ni-58, xp2n) reactions at 270 MeV. gamma rays were detected with the Gammasphere array of Compton-suppressed Ge detectors coupled with the Argonne fragment mass analyzer and were assigned to individual reaction channels using the recoil-decay tagging method. Prompt gamma-ray cascades were associated with the alpha decay of both the ground state and the 8(+) isomeric state in Hf-156, the h(11/2) state in Ta-157, and the 8(+) isomeric state in W-158. The level schemes constructed for Hf-156,Ta-157, and W-158 are compared with these of lighter N=84 isotones and are discussed within the framework of the shell model.