Signature inversion in the yrast band of 164Ta

Excited states in Ta-164 were populated in the Nd-142(Al-27,5n)Ta-164 reaction and investigated using the AFRODITE spectrometer Arran. The yrast rotational decay sequence Lip to spin 21(-) is identified for the first time and assigned to the pi[514]9/2(-) x nu[660]1/2(+) configuration. A less intense. excited hand is also identified. Low-spin signature inversion is observed in the yrast band, and is compared with the extended total Routhian surface calculations. It is likely that quadrupole pairing plays a role in generating the anomalous signature splitting, but an additional mechanism apart front the assumed mean field and quadrupole pairing interaction may be required to account for the experimental data.