  Nuclear level density (NLD) and radiative strength function (RSF) are
described simultaneously within a microscopic approach, which takes into
account the thermal effects of the exact pairing as well as the giant
resonances within the phonon-damping model. The good agreement between the
results of calculations and experimental data extracted by the Oslo group for
$^{170, 171, 172}$Yb isotopes shows the importance of exact thermal pairing in
the description of NLD at low and intermediate excitation energies and
invalidates the assumption based on the Brink-Axel hypothesis in the
description of the RSF.
