Rotational structures in ¹²⁵La and alignments in A≈130 nuclei

High-spin states in ¹²⁵La have been populated using the ⁹⁴Mo(⁴⁰Ca,2αp) reaction at a beam energy of 180 MeV. Four of the five previously known rotational structures have been extended to higher spin (I≤71/2) and excitation energy. In addition, three new sequences were observed, two of which form a strongly-coupled band. This latter structure is likely based on the [404]9/2 proton orbital, which is associated with strong deformation driving behavior in nearby Pr and Pm nuclei. A systematic examination of the crossing frequencies based on the rotational alignment of h_11/2 protons and h_11/2 neutrons is also presented. The dependence of the crossing frequencies on deformation and Fermi surface can be inferred based on experimental observation and evidence for reduced proton and possibly neutron pairing fields is presented.