Possible new chiral system with two high-<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mi>j</mml:mi></mml:math> valence protons

The chirality in Xe isotopes is investigated by using the constrained triaxial covariant density functional theory (CDFT) and quantum particle rotor model (PRM) calculations. The CDFT results show that the $\ensuremath{\pi}{g}_{9/2}^{\ensuremath{-}1}\ensuremath{\bigotimes}\ensuremath{\pi}{h}_{11/2}^{1}$ configurations with high-$j$ particle-hole character exhibit significant triaxial deformations in $^{116,118,120,122,124,126}\mathrm{Xe}$, making them suitable for establishing chirality. In $^{118}\mathrm{Xe}$ and $^{120}\mathrm{Xe}$, the available experimental energy spectra and the electromagnetic transition probabilities with the $\ensuremath{\pi}{g}_{9/2}^{\ensuremath{-}1}\ensuremath{\bigotimes}\ensuremath{\pi}{h}_{11/2}^{1}$ configuration are described well by PRM calculations. A systematic comparison with the chiral doublet bands based on the $\ensuremath{\pi}{g}_{9/2}^{\ensuremath{-}1}\ensuremath{\bigotimes}\ensuremath{\nu}{h}_{11/2}^{1}$ configuration is also discussed. The present work proposes a new chiral system formed by the coupling of two high-$j$ valence protons, contributing to the exploration of the key scientific question regarding the universality of nuclear chirality.