Core excitation in ⁹⁸Cd

Using a ⁵⁸Ni(⁴⁶Ti, α2n) reaction, a total of 24 different residual nuclei were identified. Among them were ⁹⁸Cd and ⁹⁷Ag. The level scheme of ⁹⁸Cd was extended to J ^π=(15⁺). An isomeric state at 6634 keV excitation energy was confirmed. This state decays by a 4207 keV transition feeding the known 8⁺ state. The level scheme of ⁹⁷Ag was also extended to J^π=(33/2⁺) and the half-lives of two isomeric states were measured. Experimental energies of the excited states were compared with the results of ab initio shell-model calculations based on a realistic two-nucleon interaction. The Gammasphere Ge array, coupled with the Microball and the Neutron Shell ancillary particle detectors, was used at the 88 inch cyclotron at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA.