Mirror and valence symmetries at the centre of the f7/2 shell

High-spin states have been investigated in the A = 47 mirror pair 2347V24 and 2447Cr23. The Coulomb energy difference (CED) between the two nuclei has been examined up to the band-terminating state of Jπ = 31/2 and compared with that of their cross-conjugate nuclei, the mirror pair 2449Cr25 and 2549Mn24. The CED results are interpreted in terms of band-crossing and band-termination phenomena. A comparison of the cross-conjugate pairs indicates for the first time that the CED can reflect the changing nuclear deformation as a function of spin. CED calculations from full pf-shell calculations are presented for the first time and are shown to be in good quantitative agreement with the data. © 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.