The 685 keV excitation energy of the first excited 0+ state in 152Sm makes it
an attractive candidate to explore expected two-phonon excitations at low
energy. Multiple-step Coulomb excitation and inelastic neutron scattering
studies of 152Sm are used to probe the E2 collectivity of excited 0+ states in
this "soft" nucleus and the results are compared with model predictions. No
candidates for two-phonon K=0+ quadrupole vibrational states are found. A 2+,
K=2 state with strong E2 decay to the first excited K=0+ band and a probable 3+
band member are established.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication as a Rapid Communication
in Physical Review
