Second minimum lifetime measurements in sup 133 Nd and sup 137 Nd

The quadrupole moments ({ital Q}{sub 0}) of the highly deformed, second minimum bands in {sup 133}Nd and {sup 137}Nd have been extracted from mean lifetime measurements using the Doppler shift attenuation method. The reactions {sup 105}Pd({sup 32}S,2{ital p}2{ital n}){sup 133}Nd at 152 MeV and {sup 104}Ru({sup 36}S,3{ital n}){sup 137}Nd at 145 MeV were used. A standard centroid shift analysis was carried out in both cases, which gave values of {ital Q}{sub 0}=(6.0{plus minus}0.7){ital e} b and (4.0{plus minus}0.5){ital e} b for {sup 133}Nd and {sup 137}Nd, respectively, corresponding to axial prolate deformations of {beta}{sub 2}{congruent}0.33 and {congruent}0.22. A line-shape analysis was also carried out for {sup 133}Nd to check against the possible effect of sidefeeding. The result was {ital Q}{sub 0}=(6.7+0.7){ital e} b, with sightly slower sidefeeding times corresponding to {ital Q}{sub s{bar f}}{congruent}5.3{ital e} b. The results are in good agreement with the predictions of total Routhian surface calculations, and are discussed in the context of other highly deformed bands in the {ital A}=130--140 mass region.