Identification of excited states in 140Dy

Excited structures in the proton-rich nucleus 140Dy were established following the decay of a 7.3+/-1.5 mus, K = 8- isomer. The isomer decays into the yrast line at the 8+ state, revealing a rotational band with a deduced deformation of 2 = 0.24(3). The isotope 140Dy is the daughter of the deformed proton emitter 141Ho. The new information obtained here supports the role of deformation in proton emission and the previous assignments of single-particle configurations to the two proton emitting states in 141Ho. In addition, the reduced hindrance factor measured for the isomer is consistent with the trend observed in the N = 74 isotones and shows no deviation which could be attributed to the proximity of 140Dy to the proton drip line.