0000000000219546
AUTHOR
E. Haettner
Decay studies in the A∼225 Po-Fr region from the DESPEC campaign at GSI in 2021
The HISPEC-DESPEC collaboration aims at investigating the struc-ture of exotic nuclei formed in fragmentation reactions with decay spectroscopymeasurements, as part of the FAIR Phase-0 campaign at GSI. This paper reportson first results of an experiment performed in spring 2021, with a focus on beta-decaystudies in the Po-Fr nuclei in the 220 < A <230 island of octupole deformationexploiting the DESPEC setup. Ion-beta correlations and fast-timing techniques arebeing employed, giving an insight into this difficult-to-reach region. peerReviewed
Recent developments for high-precision mass measurements of the heaviest elements at SHIPTRAP
Abstract Atomic nuclei far from stability continue to challenge our understanding. For example, theoretical models have predicted an “island of stability” in the region of the superheavy elements due to the closure of spherical proton and neutron shells. Depending on the model, these are expected at Z = 114, 120 or even 126 and N = 172 or 184. Valuable information on the road to the island of stability is derived from high-precision mass measurements, which give direct access to binding energies of short-lived trans-uranium nuclei. Recently, direct mass measurements at SHIPTRAP have been extended to nobelium and lawrencium isotopes around the deformed shell gap N = 152. In order to further …
Design, construction and cooling system performance of a prototype cryogenic stopping cell for the Super-FRS at FAIR
A cryogenic stopping cell for stopping energetic radioactive ions and extracting them as a low energy beam was developed. This first ever cryogenically operated stopping cell serves as prototype device for the Low-Energy Branch of the Super-FRS at FAIR. The cell has a stopping volume that is 1 m long and 25 cm in diameter. Ions are guided by a DC field along the length of the stopping cell and by a combined RF and DC fields provided by an RE carpet at the exit-hole side. The ultra-high purity of the stopping gas required for optimum ion survival is reached by cryogenic operation. The design considerations and construction of the cryogenic stopping cell, as well as some performance character…
Rate capability of a cryogenic stopping cell for uranium projectile fragments produced at 1000 MeV/u
At the Low-Energy Branch (LEB) of the Super-FRS at FAIR, projectile and fission fragments will be produced at relativistic energies, separated in-flight, energy-bunched, slowed down and thermalized in a cryogenic stopping cell (CSC) filled with ultra-pure He gas. The fragments are extracted from the stopping cell using a combination of DC and RF electric fields and gas flow. A prototype CSC for the LEB has been developed and successfully commissioned at the FRS Ion Catcher at GSI. Ionization of He buffer gas atoms during the stopping of energetic ions creates a region of high space charge in the stopping cell. The space charge decreases the extraction efficiency of stopping cells since the …
Nature of seniority symmetry breaking in the semimagic nucleus $^{94}Ru$
Physical review / C 105(3), L031304 (2022). doi:10.1103/PhysRevC.105.L031304
The FRS Ion Catcher
At the FRS Ion Catcher at GSI, projectile and fission fragments are produced at relativistic energies, separated in-flight, range-focused, slowed down and thermalized in a cryogenic stopping cell. A multiple-reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometer (MR-TOF-MS) is used to perform direct mass measurements and to provide an isobarically clean beam for further experiments, such as mass-selected decay spectroscopy. A versatile RF quadrupole transport and diagnostics unit guides the ions from the stopping cell to the MR-TOF-MS, provides differential pumping, ion identification and includes reference ion sources. The FRS Ion Catcher serves as a test facility for the Low-Energy Branch of the Sup…
First spatial separation of a heavy ion isomeric beam with a multiple-reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometer
Physics letters / B 744, 137 - 141 (2015). doi:10.1016/j.physletb.2015.03.047
Direct mass measurements above uranium bridge the gap to the island of stability
The mass of an atom incorporates all its constituents and their interactions. The difference between the mass of an atom and the sum of its building blocks (the binding energy) is a manifestation of Einstein's famous relation E = mc(2). The binding energy determines the energy available for nuclear reactions and decays (and thus the creation of elements by stellar nucleosynthesis), and holds the key to the fundamental question of how heavy the elements can be. Superheavy elements have been observed in challenging production experiments, but our present knowledge of the binding energy of these nuclides is based only on the detection of their decay products. The reconstruction from extended d…
High-resolution, accurate MR-TOF-MS for short-lived, exotic nuclei of few events in their ground and low-lying isomeric states
Mass measurements of fission and projectile fragments, produced via $^{238}$U and $^{124}$Xe primary beams, have been performed with the multiple-reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometer (MR-TOF-MS) of the FRS Ion Catcher with a mass resolving powers (FWHM) up to 410,000 and an uncertainty of $6\cdot 10^{-8}$. The nuclides were produced and separated in-flight with the fragment separator FRS at 300 to 1000 MeV/u and thermalized in a cryogenic stopping cell. The data-analysis procedure was developed to determine with highest accuracy the mass values and the corresponding uncertainties for the most challenging conditions: down to a few events in a spectrum and overlapping distributions, ch…
First experimental results of a cryogenic stopping cell with short-lived, heavy uranium fragments produced at 1000 MeV/u
A cryogenic stopping cell (CSC) has been commissioned with U-238 projectile fragments produced at 1000 MeV/u. The spatial isotopic separation in flight was performed with the FRS applying a monoenergetic degrader. For the first time, a stopping cell was operated with exotic nuclei at cryogenic temperatures (70 to 100K). A helium stopping gas density of up to 0.05mg/cm(3) was used, about two times higher than reached before for a stopping cell with RF ion repelling structures. An overall efficiency of up to 15%, a combined ion survival and extraction efficiency of about 50%, and extraction times of 24ms were achieved for heavy a-decaying uranium fragments. Mass spectrometry with a multiple-r…
Fast-timing Measurement in \(^{96}\)Pd: Improved Accuracy for the Lifetime of the \(4_1^{+}\) State
Direct lifetime measurements via γ–γ coincidences using the FATIMA fast-timing LaBr3(Ce) array were performed for the excited states below previously reported isomers. In the N = 50 semi-magic 96Pd nucleus, lifetimes below the I π = 8+ seniority isomer were addressed as a benchmark for further analysis. The results for the I π = 2+ and 4 + states confirm the published values. Increased accuracy for the lifetime value was achieved for the 4 + state. peerReviewed
Extending Penning trap mass measurements with SHIPTRAP to the heaviest elements
Penning-trap mass spectrometry of radionuclides provides accurate mass values and absolute binding energies. Such mass measurements are sensitive indicators of the nuclear structure evolution far away from stability. Recently, direct mass measurements have been extended to the heavy elements nobelium (Z=102) and lawrencium (Z=103) with the Penning-trap mass spectrometer SHIPTRAP. The results probe nuclear shell effects at N=152. New developments will pave the way to access even heavier nuclides.
Mass Measurements of Very Neutron-Deficient Mo and Tc Isotopes and Their Impact on rp Process Nucleosynthesis
The masses of ten proton-rich nuclides, including the N=Z+1 nuclides 85-Mo and 87-Tc, were measured with the Penning trap mass spectrometer SHIPTRAP. Compared to the Atomic Mass Evaluation 2003 a systematic shift of the mass surface by up to 1.6 MeV is observed causing significant abundance changes of the ashes of astrophysical X-ray bursts. Surprisingly low alpha-separation energies for neutron-deficient Mo and Tc are found, making the formation of a ZrNb cycle in the rp process possible. Such a cycle would impose an upper temperature limit for the synthesis of elements beyond Nb in the rp process.
Direct Mapping of Nuclear Shell Effects in the Heaviest Elements
Quantum-mechanical shell effects are expected to strongly enhance nuclear binding on an "island of stability" of superheavy elements. The predicted center at proton number $Z=114,120$, or $126$ and neutron number $N=184$ has been substantiated by the recent synthesis of new elements up to $Z=118$. However the location of the center and the extension of the island of stability remain vague. High-precision mass spectrometry allows the direct measurement of nuclear binding energies and thus the determination of the strength of shell effects. Here, we present such measurements for nobelium and lawrencium isotopes, which also pin down the deformed shell gap at $N=152$.