Millisecond 23/2+ isomers in the N=79 isotones Xe133 and Ba135

Detailed information on isomeric states in A ≈ 135 nuclei is exploited to benchmark shell-model calculations in the region northwest of doubly-magic nucleus 132Sn. The N = 79 isotones 133Xe and 135Ba are studied after multinucleon transfer (MNT) in the 136Xe + 208Pb reaction employing the high-resolution Advanced GAmma Tracking Array (AGATA) coupled to the magnetic spectrometer PRISMA at the Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro, Italy and in a pulsed-beam experiment at the FN tandem accelerator of the University of Cologne, Germany utilizing a 9Be+130Te fusion-evaporation reaction at a beam energy of 40 MeV. Isomeric states are identified via delayed γ-ray spectroscopy. Hitherto tentative excitation energy, spin, and parity assignments of the 2107-keV Jπ = 23/2+ isomer in 133Xe are confirmed and a half-life of T1/2 = 8.64(13) ms is measured. The 2388-keV state in 135Ba is identified as a Jπ = 23/2+ isomer with a half-life of 1.06(4) ms. The new results show a smooth onset of isomeric Jπ = 23/2+ states along the N = 79 isotones and close a gap in the high-spin systematics towards the recently investigated Jπ = 23/2+ isomer in 139Nd. The resulting systematics of M2 reduced transition probabilities is discussed within the framework of the nuclear shell model. Latest large-scale shell-model calculations employing the SN100PN, GCN50:82, SN100-KTH, and a realistic effective interaction reproduce the experimental findings generally well and give insight into the structure of the isomers.