Transition quadrupole moments in gamma-soft nuclei and the triaxial projected shell model

Transition probabilities of the ground-state bands in $\gamma$-soft nuclei are studied for the first time using the triaxial projected shell model approach. It is observed that the angular-momentum dependence of the transition quadrupole moment $Q_t$ is related to the triaxial deformation of the nuclear mean-field potential. The introduction of the $\gamma$-degree of freedom in the shell model basis is shown to have a little influence on the {\it constant} behavior of the low-spin $Q_t$ in a well-deformed nucleus. However, the {\it increasing} collectivity with spin for the low-spin states in a $\gamma$-soft nucleus can only be explained by considering the triaxial mean-field deformation.