Single particle degrees of freedom in the transition from deformed to spherical Nd nuclei

The g factors of the 4{sub 1}{sup +} and 6{sub 1}{sup +} states in {sup 144,148}Nd, the 4{sub 1}{sup +} state in {sup 146}Nd and the 6{sub 1}{sup +}, 8{sub 1}{sup +}, and 10{sub 1}{sup +} states in {sup 150}Nd have been measured for the first time by projectile Coulomb excitation coupled to the transient field technique. The g factors of the 2{sub 1}{sup +} states of {sup 144,146,148,150}Nd have been remeasured with high precision. The data clearly indicate that, while {sup 148,150}Nd are well described by collective excitations, the structure of the low lying levels in the lighter isotopes is dominated by the 2f{sub 7/2} neutron configuration.