Spectroscopy above the 6-qp K-isomer in $^{\mathrm{\mathbf{176}}}$\textbf{Hf}$^{\mathrm{\mathbf{\thinspace \ast }}}$.

High-K yrast isomers are classic representations of the competition between independent particle and collective degrees of freedom in generating high angular momentum in a well-deformed nucleus. In $^{\mathrm{176}}$Hf, 2-, 4- and 6-quasiparticle (qp) isomers were reported in early studies of high-K isomerism. The 6-qp K$^{\mathrm{\pi }}=$22$^{\mathrm{-}}$ yrast isomer (t$_{\mathrm{1/2}}=$43 $\mu $s, E$_{\mathrm{x}}=$4864 keV), in addition to its primary decay, exhibits a small and anomalously fast decay branch [1]. A predicted 8-qp yrast trap at K$=$28 has remained elusive, primarily due to the lack of suitable beam-target combinations to bring in high angular momentum. A recoil-decay-tagging experiment using the $^{\mathrm{130}}$Te($^{\mathrm{48}}$Ca,2$n)$ reaction was performed at JYFL to search for transitions feeding the 6-qp isomer, using the JUROGAM-II plus GREAT setup. Prompt gamma rays were correlated with $^{\mathrm{176}}$Hf implants and subsequent decays in a Ge-DSSD, with decay transitions detected in the focal plane. Results from the analysis will be presented and discussed. *Supported in part by the U.S.D.O.E. Grants DE-FG02-94ER40848 (UML) and DE-AC02-06CH11357 (ANL). 1. G. Mukherjee et al., Phys. Rev. C. 82, 054316 (2010).