Identification of γ rays from Au 172 and α decays of Au 172 , Ir 168 , and Re 164

The very neutron deficient odd-odd nucleus Au-172 was studied in reactions of 342 and 348 MeV Kr-78 beams with an isotopically enriched Ru-96 target. The alpha decays previously reported for Au-172 were confirmed and the decay chain extended down to Tm-152 through the discovery of a new alpha-decaying state in Re-164 [E-alpha=5623(10) keV; t(1/2)=864(-110)(+150) ms; b(alpha)=3(1)%]. Fine structure in these alpha decays of Au-172 and Ir-168 were identified. A new alpha-decaying state was also observed and assigned as the ground state in Au-172 [E-alpha=6762(10) keV; t(1/2)=22(-5)(+6) ms]. This decay chain was also correlated down to Tm-152 through previously reported alpha decays. Prompt gamma rays from excited states in Au-172 have been identified using the recoil-decay tagging technique. The partial level scheme constructed for Au-172 indicates that it has an irregular structure. Possible configurations of the alpha-decaying states in Au-172 are discussed in terms of the systematics of nuclei in this region and total Routhian surface calculations.