An expression of the particle-number projected nuclear moment of inertia (MOI) has been established in the neutron–proton (np) isovector pairing case within the cranking model. It generalizes the one obtained in the like-particles pairing case. The formalism has been, as a first step, applied to the picket-fence model. As a second step, it has been applied to deformed even–even nuclei such as [Formula: see text] and of which the experimentally deduced values of the pairing gap parameters [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], are known. The single-particle energies and eigenstates used are those of a deformed Woods–Saxon mean-field. It was shown, in both models, that the np pairing effect and the projection one are non-negligible. In realistic cases, it also appears that the np pairing effect strongly depends on [Formula: see text], whereas the projection effect is practically independent from the same quantity.
Exponential dependence of the nuclear moment of inertia on pairing correlation and the pairing stretch model for nuclear rotation