Accepted Tuesday Oct 27, 2009
The g-factor of the 2+1 state of 172Hf was measured using the perturbed angular correlation technique in a static external magnetic field. The result, g(2+1)=0.25(5), is discussed in relation to the systematics of the previously reported g-factors in the Hf isotopes and compared to the predictions of several models. An interesting outcome of the analysis presented in this paper is the agreement between the calculated g-factors within the interacting boson approximation (IBA) and the results of a large-scale shell model calculation. This agreement supports the emphasis in the IBA on the valence space. The undershooting of the empirical g factors near mid-shell in both models suggests that they underestimate the role of the saturation of collectivity that is explicitly incorporated into a phenomenological model that agrees better with the data.