Non-octupole origin of the51−state inNd144

The origin of the $5_1^{\mathrm{-}}$ state of ${}_{}{}^{144}{}_{}{}^{}\mathrm{Nd}$ is investigated by means of the inelastic scattering of 35 MeV protons. The experimental data demonstrate that this state does not arise from the coupling of quadrupole and octupole vibrations. This results raises questions regarding the origin of low lying negative parity states in ${}_{}{}^{146}{}_{}{}^{}\mathrm{Nd}$.