Can hexadecapole deformation lead to ΔI = 2 staggering in superdeformed bands?

The possibility is investigated that a C4ν-symmetric hexadecapole deformation causes the observed ΔI = 2 staggering of rotational bands in even and odd-A nuclei. Calculating the energy as a function of intrinsic angular momentum components by means of the tilted cranking model, a rotor Hamiltonian with C4ν-symmetry is derived, but the magnitude of the fourth order terms is found to be too small to generate a ΔI = 2 staggering of the experimental size. Considering an odd-A system composed of a rotor and a high j-quasiparticle, the ΔI = 2 staggering emerges only when the rotor core contains a C4ν-symmetric fourth order angular momentum term.