0000000000117066
AUTHOR
Szilard Nagy
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…
Implementation of an aerodynamic lens for TRIGA-SPEC
Abstract We report on the optimization of the gas-jet system employed to couple the TRIGA-SPEC experiment to the research reactor TRIGA Mainz. CdI2 aerosol particles suspended in N2 as carrier gas are used for an effective transport of fission products from neutron induced 235 U fission from the target chamber to a surface ion source. Operating conditions of the gas-jet were modified to enable the implementation of an aerodynamic lens, fitting into the limited space available in front of the ion source. The lens boosts the gas-jet efficiency by a factor of 4–10. The characterization of the gas-jet system as well as the design of the aerodynamic lens and efficiency studies are presented and …
Qvalue and half-life of double-electron capture in184Os
The observation of neutrinoless double-beta transitionswould reveal physics beyond the Standard Model, asit would establish neutrinos to be Majorana particles,which implies a violation of the lepton number conserva-tion. Experiments searching for these transitions have fo-cused on the detection of neutrinoless double-beta decay(0 ) rather than neutrinoless double-electron capture(0). One reason among others is in general the sig-ni cantly shorter half-life of the 0 process. However,in the case of neutrinoless double-electron capture, thetransition is expected to be resonantly enhanced if theinitial and the nal state of the transition are degeneratein energy [1{3].In this work, we inves…
Direct mass measurements of cadmium and palladium isotopes and their double-βtransitionQvalues
The Q-value of the double-electron capture in Cd-108 has been determined to be (272.04 +/- 0.55) keV in a direct measurement with the double-Penning trap mass spectrometer TRIGA-TRAP. Based on this result a resonant enhancement of the decay rate of Cd-108 is excluded. We have confirmed the double-beta transition Q-values of Cd-106 and Pd-110 recently measured with the Penning-trap mass spectrometers SHIPTRAP and ISOLTRAP, respectively. Furthermore, the atomic masses of the involved nuclides Cd-106, Cd-108, Cd-110, Pd-106, Pd-108 and Pd-110 have been directly linked to the atomic mass standard.
High-frequency Ramsey excitation in a Penning trap
The Ramsey excitation method for high-precision mass-measurements of highly-charged ions has been investigated and benchmarked using H2+ ions in the Penning-trap mass-spectrometer SMILETRAP. The reason for using H2+ ions are their high cyclotron frequency which is typical for the highly-charged ions usually used at SMILETRAP. Two-, three- and four-pulse Ramsey excitation data are analyzed with the help of recent theoretical work and are compared with the previously used single-pulse excitation data. An improvement factor of 2.9 in the statistical uncertainty is achieved. Furthermore the mass of 76Se, included in the previous Q-value measurement of the 76Ge neutrinoless double beta decay, is…
Position-sensitive ion detection in precision Penning trap mass spectrometry
A commercial, position-sensitive ion detector was used for the first time for the time-of-flight ion-cyclotron resonance detection technique in Penning trap mass spectrometry. In this work, the characteristics of the detector and its implementation in a Penning trap mass spectrometer will be presented. In addition, simulations and experimental studies concerning the observation of ions ejected from a Penning trap are described. This will allow for a precise monitoring of the state of ion motion in the trap.
Targets on superhydrophobic surfaces for laser ablation ion sources
Target preparation techniques for a laser ablation ion source at the Penning-trap mass spectrometer TRIGA-TRAP have been investigated with regard to future experiments with actinides. To be able to perform mass measurements on these nuclides considering their limited availability, an efficient target preparation technique is mandatory. Here, we report on a new approach for target production using backings, which are pretreated in a way that a superhydrophobic surface is formed. This resulted in improved targets with a more homogeneous distribution of the target material compared to standard techniques with unmodified backings. It was demonstrated that the use of these new targets in a laser…
Direct high-precision mass measurements onAm241,243,Pu244, andCf249
The absolute masses of four long-lived transuranium nuclides, $^{241,243}\mathrm{Am}$, $^{244}\mathrm{Pu}$, $^{244}\mathrm{Pu}$, and $^{249}\mathrm{Cf}$, in the vicinity of the deformed $N=152$ neutron shell closure have been measured directly with the Penning-trap mass spectrometer TRIGA-TRAP. Our measurements confirm the AME2012 mass values of $^{241,243}\mathrm{Am}$ and $^{244}\mathrm{Pu}$ within one standard deviation, which were indirectly determined, by decay spectroscopy studies. In the case of the $^{249}\mathrm{Cf}$ mass, a discrepancy of more than three standard deviations has been observed, affecting absolute masses even in the superheavy element region. The implementation of the…