Very extended shapes in the A ∼ 156 mass region

Calculations have been carried out in a four dimensional deformation space to investigate a possible observation of hyperdeformed nuclear shapes in 152Dy and/or 153Dy. The calculations suggest that the explanation of the experimental observations is not a hyperdeformed shape. An analysis of somewhat heavier nuclei shows minima characterized by rotational bands having moments of inertia ∼10–15% larger than that of the well known superdeformed band in 152Dy.