Two-Phonon Octupole Excitation in 146Gd

The excited states in 146Gd have been re‐investigated with the 144Sm(α,2n) reaction using a modern Ge γ‐ray array including a polarimeter. Amongst the non‐yrast states populated in this reaction we have identified the aligned 6+ member of the two‐phonon octupole quartet from the observation of the E3 branching to the one phonon 3− state. Our results represent the first observation of a 6+→3−→0+ E3 cascade in an even‐even nucleus.