Observation of a candidate for the M1 scissors resonance in odd-odd 166Ho

The gamma-strength function and the nuclear level density for the odd-odd, rare-earth nucleus 166Ho have been extracted from 163Dy(alpha, p gamma )166Ho data using the Oslo method. A structure at P-'3 MeV in the gamma-strength function is interpreted as the M1 scissors resonance. By employing three different methods we find that its strength depends rather strongly on the modeling of the E1 strength, while its centroid does not. The 166Ho scissors resonance parameters are consistent with previous results on other rare-earth nuclei.