Role of the νg9/2 orbital in the development of collectivity in the A ≈ 60 region: The case of 61Co

An extensive study of the level structure of Co-61 has been performed following the complex Mg-26(Ca-48, 2 alpha 4np gamma)Co-61 reaction at beam energies of 275, 290, and 320 MeV using Gammasphere and the Fragment Mass Analyzer (FMA). The low-spin structure is discussed within the framework of shell-model calculations using the GXPF1A effective interaction. Two quasirotational bands consisting of stretched-E2 transitions have been established up to spins I = 41/2 and (43/2), and excitation energies of similar to 17 and similar to 20 MeV, respectively. These are interpreted as signature partners built on a neutron nu(g(9/2))(2) configuration coupled to a proton pi p(3/2) state, based on cranked shell model (CSM) calculations and comparisons with observations in neighboring nuclei. In addition, four Delta I = 1 bands were populated to high spin, with the yrast dipole band interpreted as a possible candidate for the shears mechanism, a process seldom observed thus far in this mass region.