0000000000041263
AUTHOR
C. Yazidjian
Towards high-accuracy mass spectrometry of highly charged short-lived ions at ISOLTRAP
Dedicated to H.-J. Kluge on the occasion of his 65th birthday anniversary - Jürgen Kluge Special Issue; Multiply charged ions of stable xenon isotopes from a plasma ion source have been mass-selected by the on-line mass separator ISOLDE/CERN and delivered to the triple-trap mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP. The doubly charged ions that survived the charge-exchange processes during bunching and ion preparation were transferred to a precision Penning trap for mass determination. Mass values were obtained for the isotopes with mass numbers A=126,129,130,136. They are consistent with previous results except for the case of $^{126}Xe$ where a significant deviation from the literature value was found. …
Cadmium mass measurements between the neutron shell closures at N=50 and 82
International audience; The mass values of the neutron-deficient cadmium isotopes 99−109Cd and of the neutronrich isotopes 114,120,122−124,126,128Cd have been measured using ISOLTRAP. The behavior of the separation energies of the cadmium isotopes from N = 50 to 82 is discussed.
The Ramsey method in high-precision mass spectrometry with Penning traps: Experimental results
The highest precision in direct mass measurements is obtained with Penning trap mass spectrometry. Most experiments use the interconversion of the magnetron and cyclotron motional modes of the stored ion due to excitation by external radiofrequency-quadrupole fields. In this work a new excitation scheme, Ramsey's method of time-separated oscillatory fields, has been successfully tested. It has been shown to reduce significantly the uncertainty in the determination of the cyclotron frequency and thus of the ion mass of interest. The theoretical description of the ion motion excited with Ramsey's method in a Penning trap and subsequently the calculation of the resonance line shapes for differ…
ISOLTRAP mass measurements of exotic nuclides at
The ISOLTRAP experiment at the ISOLDE facility at CERN is a Penning trap mass spectrometer for on-line mass measurements on short-lived radionuclides. It allows the determination of atomic masses of exotic nuclides with a relative uncertainty of only 10−8. The results provide important information for, e.g., weak interaction studies and nuclear models. Recent ISOLTRAP investigations and applications of high-precision mass measurements are discussed.
Towards a magnetic field stabilization at ISOLTRAP for high-accuracy mass measurements on exotic nuclides
Abstract The field stability of a mass spectrometer plays a crucial role in the accuracy of mass measurements. In the case of mass determination of short-lived nuclides with a Penning trap, major causes of fluctuations are temperature variations in the vicinity of the trap and pressure changes in the liquid helium cryostat of the superconducting magnet. Thus systems for the temperature and pressure stabilization of the Penning trap mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP at the ISOLDE facility at CERN have been installed. A reduction of the temperature and pressure fluctuations by at least an order of magnitude down to Δ T ≈ ± 5 mK and Δ p ≈ ± 5 Pa has been achieved, which corresponds to a relative magn…
Isoltrap pins down masses of exotic nuclides
The mass of radionuclides contribute to a variety of fundamental studies including tests of the weak interaction and the Standard Model. The limits of mass measurements of exotic nuclides have been extended considerably by the Penning-trap mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP at the ISOLDE facility at CERN. Recent ISOLTRAP measurements are summarized and current technical improvements are outlined.
Mass measurements beyond the major r-process waiting point $^{80}$Zn
High-precision mass measurements on neutron-rich zinc isotopes 71m,72-81Zn have been performed with the Penning trap mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP. For the first time the mass of 81Zn has been experimentally determined. This makes 80Zn the first of the few major waiting points along the path of the astrophysical rapid neutron capture process where neutron separation energy and neutron capture Q-value are determined experimentally. As a consequence, the astrophysical conditions required for this waiting point and its associated abundance signatures to occur in r-process models can now be mapped precisely. The measurements also confirm the robustness of the N = 50 shell closure for Z = 30 farthe…
Time-separated oscillatory fields for high-precision mass measurements on short-lived Al and Ca nuclides
High-precision Penning trap mass measurements on the stable nuclide 27Al as well as on the short-lived radionuclides 26Al and 38,39Ca have been performed by use of radiofrequency excitation with time-separated oscillatory fields, i.e. Ramsey's method, as recently introduced for the excitation of the ion motion in a Penning trap, was applied. A comparison with the conventional method of a single continuous excitation demonstrates its advantage of up to ten times shorter measurements. The new mass values of 26,27Al clarify conflicting data in this specific mass region. In addition, the resulting mass values of the superallowed beta-emitter 38Ca as well as of the groundstate of the beta-emitte…
Approaching theN=82shell closure with mass measurements of Ag and Cd isotopes
Mass measurements of neutron-rich Cd and Ag isotopes were performed with the Penning trap mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP. The masses of ${}^{112,114\ensuremath{-}124}$Ag and ${}^{114,120,122\ensuremath{-}124,126,128}$Cd, determined with relative uncertainties between $2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}8}$ and $2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}7}$, resulted in significant corrections and improvements of the mass surface. In particular, the mass of $^{124}\mathrm{Ag}$ was previously unknown. In addition, other masses that had to be inferred from $Q$ values of nuclear decays and reactions have now been measured directly. The analysis includes various mass…
High-precision masses of neutron-deficient rubidium isotopes using a Penning trap mass spectrometer
The atomic masses of the neutron-deficient radioactive rubidium isotopes $^{74-77,79,80,83}$Rb have been measured with the Penning trap mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP. Using the time-of-flight cyclotron resonance technique, relative mass uncertainties ranging from $1.6 \times 10^{-8}$ to $5.6 \times 10^{-8}$ were achieved. In all cases, the mass precision was significantly improved as compared with the prior Atomic-Mass Evaluation; no significant deviations from the literature values were observed. The exotic nuclide $^{74}$Rb with a half-life of only 65 ms, is the shortest-lived nuclide on which a high-precision mass measurement in a Penning trap has been carried out. The significance of these…
Restoration of theN=82Shell Gap from Direct Mass Measurements ofSn132,134
A high-precision direct Penning trap mass measurement has revealed a 0.5-MeV deviation of the binding energy of (134)Sn from the currently accepted value. The corrected mass assignment of this neutron-rich nuclide restores the neutron-shell gap at N=82, previously considered to be a case of "shell quenching." In fact, the new shell gap value for the short-lived (132)Sn is larger than that of the doubly magic (48)Ca which is stable. The N=82 shell gap has considerable impact on fission recycling during the r process. More generally, the new finding has important consequences for microscopic mean-field theories which systematically deviate from the measured binding energies of closed-shell nu…
Mass spectrometry of atomic ions produced by in-trap decay of short-lived nuclides
The triple-trap mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP at ISOLDE/CERN has demonstrated the feasibility of mass spectrometry of in-trap-decay product ions. This novel technique gives access to radionuclides, which are not produced directly at ISOL-type radioactive ion beam facilities. As a proof of principle, the in-trap decay of $^{37}K^+$ has been investigated in a Penning trap filled with helium buffer gas. The half-life of the mother nuclide was confirmed and the recoiling $^{37}Ar^+$ daughter ion was contained within the trap. The ions of either the mother or the daughter nuclide were transferred to a precision Penning trap, where their mass was determined.
Magnetic field stabilization for high-accuracy mass measurements on exotic nuclides
The magnetic-field stability of a mass spectrometer plays a crucial role in precision mass measurements. In the case of mass determination of short-lived nuclides with a Penning trap, major causes of instabilities are temperature fluctuations in the vicinity of the trap and pressure fluctuations in the liquid helium cryostat of the superconducting magnet. Thus systems for the temperature and pressure stabilization of the Penning trap mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP at the ISOLDE facility at CERN have been installed. A reduction of the fluctuations by at least one order of magnitude downto dT=+/-5mK and dp=+/-50mtorr has been achieved, which corresponds to a relative frequency change of 2.7x10^{-…
High-accuracy mass measurements of neutron-rich Kr isotopes
The atomic masses of the neutron-rich krypton isotopes {sup 84,86-95}Kr have been determined with the tandem Penning trap mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP with uncertainties ranging from 20 to 220 ppb. The masses of the short-lived isotopes {sup 94}Kr and {sup 95}Kr were measured for the first time. The masses of the radioactive nuclides {sup 89}Kr and {sup 91}Kr disagree by 4 and 6 standard deviations, respectively, from the present Atomic-Mass Evaluation database. The resulting modification of the mass surface with respect to the two-neutron separation energies as well as implications for mass models and stellar nucleosynthesis are discussed.
ISOLTRAP Mass Measurements for Weak-Interaction Studies
International audience; The conserved-vector-current (CVC) hypothesis of the weak interaction and the unitarity of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) matrix are two fundamental postulates of the Standard Model. While existing data on CVC supports vector current conservation, the unitarity test of the CKM matrix currently fails by more than two standard deviations. High-precision mass measurements performed with the ISOLTRAP experiment at ISOLDE/CERN provide crucial input for these fundamental studies by greatly improving our knowledge of the decay energy of super-allowed beta decays. Recent results of mass measurements on the beta emitters 18Ne, 22Mg, 34Ar, and 74Rb as pertaining to weak-i…
High-accuracy mass measurements on neutron deficient neon isotopes
International audience; The atomic masses of the short-lived nuclides 17Ne and 19Ne have been measured with the triple-trap mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP at ISOLDE/CERN. The obtained mass excess for both nuclides deviates significantly from the literature value, in the case of 17Ne about 40 keV. The mass value of 17Ne can be applied for a test of the isobaric multiplet mass equation with respect to an isospin T = 3/2 quartet. In addition, both masses can contribute to the data analysis of collinear laser-spectroscopy experiments where mean-square nuclear-charge radii are determined.
Mass measurements of $^{56-57}$Cr and the question of shell reincarnation at N = 32
Binding energies determined with high accuracy provide smooth derivatives of the mass surface for analysis of shell and pairing effects. Measurements with the Penning trap mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP at CERN-ISOLDE were made for $^{56-57}$Cr for which an accuracy of 4 $\times 10^{-8}$ was achieved. Analysis of the mass surface for the supposed new N = 32 shell closure rather indicates a sub-shell closure, but of a different nature than known cases such as $^{94}$Sr.