Enhanced \textit{E3} Excitations in $^{\mathrm{144,146}}$Ba and the Evolution of Octupole Collectivity*

Recent Coulomb excitation studies on $^{\mathrm{144,146}}$Ba using the GRETINA-CHICO2 detection system with post-accelerated CARIBU beams have confirmed the existence of enhanced \textit{E3} transitions in these isotopes which are centered in a region that has long been predicted to exhibit stable octupole-deformed shapes. Furthermore, the widely-varying \textit{E1} strength observed between these isotopes is well-accounted for by models having octupole-deformed potentials, and the variation has been linked to increased occupancies of specific single-particle orbitals in the reflection-asymmetric potential. This talk will summarize the most recent experimental and theoretical results. In addition, data on octupole-related properties in the surrounding isotopes will be discussed in an attempt to better understand the origin and evolution of octupole collectivity in this mass region.