High-K States as a Probe of Nuclear Structure

High-K states played a key part in the discovery and understanding of deformed nuclei. An example is given of the recent use of high-K states as a signature of axially-symmetric prolate deformation in a nucleus which is predicted to show co-existence between spherical, oblate and prolate shapes. When associated bands can be identified, high-K states can also be used as a probe of pairing, and its modifiication of rotational motion. New results in ¹⁷⁸W imply that the underlying rigid moment-of-inertia revealed when orbits are blocked to form multi-quasiparticle high-K states is substantially less than the "classical" rigid-body value. The corollary is that static pairing is quenched when only a few orbits are blocked. Recent measurements of g-factors in related high-K states in ¹⁷⁹W allow the extraction of g_R values whose behaviour as a function of seniority agrees with this suggestion.