E2andE3Transitions from Quadrupole-Octupole Coupled States inNd144

Lifetime measurements of the $3_1^{-}$, $5_1^{-}$, and $1_1^{-}$ states in ${}_{}{}^{144}{}_{}{}^{}\mathrm{Nd}$ show that the absolute $E2\mathrm{}$ and $E3\mathrm{}$ transition rates from the $5_1^{-}$ and $1_1^{-}$ states are consistent with their structure being formed by the coupling of the lowest quadrupole ($2_1^{+}$) and octupole ($3_1^{-}$) excitations. A level at 2205 keV has been identified as having $J^{\pi }=4^{-}$ and may be another member of this quadrupole-octupole coupled quintuplet. The energy spacing of the quintuplet can be explained by anharmonicities in the quadrupole-octupole interaction and the influence of the ${\nu }^2(2\mathrm{}{f}_{\frac{7}{2}},1\mathrm{}{i}_{\frac{13}{2}})$ configuration.