Lifetimes of low-lying levels in $$^{158}$$Gd

Abstract The low-lying structure of the well-deformed nucleus $$^{158}$$ 158 Gd has been revisited to elucidate the nature of the low-lying states in $$^{158}$$ 158 Gd. Earlier ( p , t ) studies identified numerous 0 $$^+$$ + states below 4.3 MeV, prompting questions about whether these states correspond to collective vibrations or shape coexistence. New and previously reported ( $$n,n^\prime \gamma $$ n , n ′ γ ) measurements are combined, including $$\gamma $$ γ - $$\gamma $$ γ coincidences, excitation functions, and angular distributions, to extract lifetimes and transition probabilities for 44 excited states up to 2.7 MeV, including 32 previously unmeasured levels. Our results confirm or revise $$\gamma $$ γ -ray placements and provide detailed transition strengths, revealing both weakly collective and strongly enhanced B(E2) and B(E1) transition probabilities. In particular, a tentative 0 $$^+$$ + state at 2437.8 keV exhibits a strong interband B(E2) transition, which may be a candidate for a possible two-phonon ( $$\beta \beta $$ β β ) excitation. Systematic comparisons with neighboring Gd isotopes, Hartree–Fock–Bogoliubov, and interacting-boson model predictions suggest that the first excited 0 $$^+$$ + state in $$^{158}$$ 158 Gd is predicted to be a $$\beta $$ β -vibration, although it is weakly collective. We also present results for lifetimes and transition probabilities for a number of negative parity states, including $$\hbox {K}^{\pi }=0^-,1^-,2^-$$ K π = 0 - , 1 - , 2 - sequences, perhaps providing insight into octupole collectivity and the interplay between quadrupole and octupole vibrations in deformed nuclei. The systematic presence of low-lying negative-parity bands and their interband transition strengths suggest that $$^{158}$$