Observation of High-j Two-Quasiparticle Bands in Odd--Odd

High spin states in ¹⁷⁴Re have been investigated via the ¹⁵²Sm (²⁷Al, 5nγ)¹⁷⁴Re reaction. Gamma-ray excitation functions, x-γ and γ-γ coincidences have been measured. Two rotational bands built on the π h_9/2 otimes vi_13/2 and π h_11/2 otimes vi_13/2 configurations have been identified and extended up to high-spin states. The relative spin and parity of the band levels have been unambiguously fixed due to observations of several inter-band transitions. Both the bands show the low-spin signature inversion, which is consistent with systematic expectations for the high-j two-quasiparticle bands in the A=170 mass region.