0000000000231017
AUTHOR
Frank Wienholtz
Laser Spectroscopy of Neutron-Rich Hg207,208 Isotopes: Illuminating the Kink and Odd-Even Staggering in Charge Radii across the N=126 Shell Closure
The mean-square charge radii of $^{207,208}$Hg ($Z=80, N=127,128$) have been studied for the first time and those of $^{202,203,206}$Hg ($N=122,123,126$) remeasured by the application of in-source resonance-ionization laser spectroscopy at ISOLDE (CERN). The characteristic \textit{kink} in the charge radii at the $N=126$ neutron shell closure has been revealed, providing the first information on its behavior below the $Z=82$ proton shell closure. A theoretical analysis has been performed within relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov and non-relativistic Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov approaches, considering both the new mercury results and existing lead data. Contrary to previous interpretations, it is d…
Mass spectrometry and decay spectroscopy of isomers across the Z=82 shell closure
Recent results from a measurement campaign studying the isomerism in neutron-deficient Tl isotopes are presented. The measurements make use of a nuclear spectroscopy setup coupled to the high-resolution Penning-trap mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP at CERN's radioactive ion-beam facility ISOLDE. The mass values of 190,194Tl are improved and a mass-spin-state assignment is carried out. An additional mass measurement of the grandparent nuclide 198At allows the deduction of the spin-state ordering in 190Tl. As a result, the excitation energies of the isomers in both Tl isotopes are determined for the first time to Eex(194Tl)=260(15) keV and E ex(190Tl)=89(12) keV. Furthermore, this allows anchoring …
The NEXT Project: Towards Production and Investigation of Neutron-Rich Heavy Nuclides
The heaviest actinide elements are only accessible in accelerator-based experiments on a one-atom-at-a-time level. Usually, fusion–evaporation reactions are applied to reach these elements. However, access to the neutron-rich isotopes is limited. An alternative reaction mechanism to fusion–evaporation is multinucleon transfer, which features higher cross-sections. The main drawback of this technique is the wide angular distribution of the transfer products, which makes it challenging to catch and prepare them for precision measurements. To overcome this obstacle, we are building the NEXT experiment: a solenoid magnet is used to separate the different transfer products and to focus those of …
Precision Mass Measurements of Cr58–63 : Nuclear Collectivity Towards the N=40 Island of Inversion
The neutron-rich isotopes $^{58-63}$Cr were produced for the first time at the ISOLDE facility and their masses were measured with the ISOLTRAP spectrometer. The new values are up to 300 times more precise than those in the literature and indicate significantly different nuclear structure from the new mass-surface trend. A gradual onset of deformation is found in this proton and neutron mid-shell region, which is a gateway to the second island of inversion around \emph{N}=40. In addition to comparisons with density-functional theory and large-scale shell-model calculations, we present predictions from the valence-space formulation of the \emph{ab initio} in-medium similarity renormalization…
Recent Exploits of the ISOLTRAP Mass Spectrometer
Abstract The Penning-trap mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP, located at the isotope-separator facility ISOLDE (CERN), is presented in its current form taking into account technical developments since 2007. Three areas of developments are presented. The reference ion sources have been modified to guarantee a sufficient supply of reference ions for mass measurements and systematic studies. Different excitation schemes have been investigated for manipulation of the ion motion in the Penning trap, to enhance either the purification or measurement process. A multi-reflection time-of-flight mass separator has been implemented and can now be routinely used for purification and as a versatile tool for bea…
New developments of the in-source spectroscopy method at RILIS/ISOLDE
At the CERN ISOLDE facility, long isotope chains of many elements are produced by proton-induced reactions in target materials such as uranium carbide. The Resonance Ionization Laser Ion Source (RILIS) is an efficient and selective means of ionizing the reaction products to produce an ion beam of a chosen isotope. Coupling the RILIS with modern ion detection techniques enables highly sensitive studies of nuclear properties (spins, electromagnetic moments and charge radii) along an isotope chain, provided that the isotope shifts and hyperfine structure splitting of the atomic transitions can be resolved. At ISOLDE the campaign to measure the systematics of isotopes in the lead region (Pb, Bi…
Examining the N=28 shell closure through high-precision mass measurements of Ar46–48
The strength of the $N=28$ magic number in neutron-rich argon isotopes is examined through high-precision mass measurements of $^{46\text{--}48}\mathrm{Ar}$, performed with the ISOLTRAP mass spectrometer at ISOLDE/CERN. The new mass values are up to 90 times more precise than previous measurements. While they suggest the persistence of the $N=28$ shell closure for argon, we show that this conclusion has to be nuanced in light of the wealth of spectroscopic data and theoretical investigations performed with the SDPF-U phenomenological shell model interaction. Our results are also compared with ab initio calculations using the valence space in-medium similarity renormalization group and the s…
Penning-trap mass spectrometry and mean-field study of nuclear shape coexistence in the neutron-deficient lead region
We present a study of nuclear shape coexistence in the region of neutron-deficient lead isotopes. The midshell gold isotopes 180,185,188,190Au (Z=79), the two long-lived nuclear states in 197At (Z=85), and the neutron-rich nuclide 219At were produced by the ISOLDE facility at CERN and their masses were determined with the high-precision Penning-trap mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP. The studied gold isotopes address the trend of binding energies in a region of the nuclear chart where the nuclear charge radii show pronounced discontinuities. Significant deviations from the atomic-mass evaluation were found for 188,190Au. The new trend of two-neutron separation energies is smoother, although it doe…
Charge radii, moments, and masses of mercury isotopes across the N=126 shell closure
Combining laser spectroscopy in a Versatile Arc Discharge and Laser Ion Source, with Penning-trap mass spectrometry at the CERN-ISOLDE facility, this work reports on mean-square charge radii of neutron-rich mercury isotopes across the $N = 126$ shell closure, the electromagnetic moments of $^{207}$Hg and more precise mass values of $^{206-208}$Hg. The odd-even staggering (OES) of the mean square charge radii and the kink at $N = 126$ are analyzed within the framework of covariant density functional theory (CDFT), with comparisons between different functionals to investigate the dependence of the results on the underlying single-particle structure. The observed features are defined predomina…
First Glimpse of the N=82 Shell Closure below Z=50 from Masses of Neutron-Rich Cadmium Isotopes and Isomers
We probe the $N=82$ nuclear shell closure by mass measurements of neutron-rich cadmium isotopes with the ISOLTRAP spectrometer at ISOLDE-CERN. The new mass of $^{132}\mathrm{Cd}$ offers the first value of the $N=82$, two-neutron shell gap below $Z=50$ and confirms the phenomenon of mutually enhanced magicity at $^{132}\mathrm{Sn}$. Using the recently implemented phase-imaging ion-cyclotron-resonance method, the ordering of the low-lying isomers in $^{129}\mathrm{Cd}$ and their energies are determined. The new experimental findings are used to test large-scale shell-model, mean-field, and beyond-mean-field calculations, as well as the ab initio valence-space in-medium similarity renormalizat…
Shape staggering of midshell mercury isotopes from in-source laser spectroscopy compared with density-functional-theory and Monte Carlo shell-model calculations
Neutron-deficient Hg177-185 isotopes were studied using in-source laser resonance-ionization spectroscopy at the CERN-ISOLDE radioactive ion-beam facility in an experiment combining different detection methods tailored to the studied isotopes. These include either α-decay tagging or multireflection time-of-flight gating for isotope identification. The endpoint of the odd-even nuclear shape staggering in mercury was observed directly by measuring for the first time the isotope shifts and hyperfine structures of Hg177-180. Changes in the mean-square charge radii for all mentioned isotopes, magnetic dipole, and electric quadrupole moments of the odd-A isotopes and arguments in favor of I=7/2 s…
Buffer-gas-free mass-selective ion centering in Penning traps by simultaneous dipolar excitation of magnetron motion and quadrupolar excitation for interconversion between magnetron and cyclotron motion
A new excitation scheme of the radial ion-motional modes is introduced for Penning-trap ion-cyclotron-resonance experiments. By simultaneous dipolar excitation of the magnetron motion and resonant quadrupolar excitation for the conversion between magnetron motion and cyclotron motion, a mass-selective recentering of the ions of interest is performed while all other (contaminant) ions are ejected from the trap. This new technique does not rely on the application of a buffer gas as presently used [G. Savard, St. Becker, G. Bollen, H.-J. Kluge, R.B. Moore, Th. Otto, L Schweikhard, H. Stolzenberg, U. Wiess, Physics Letters A 158 (1991) 247] and will thus prevent charge-exchange reactions and da…
Change in structure between the $I = 1/2$ states in $^{181}$Tl and $^{177,179}$Au
Abstract The first accurate measurements of the α-decay branching ratio and half-life of the I π = 1 / 2 + ground state in 181Tl have been made, along with the first determination of the magnetic moments and I = 1 / 2 spin assignments of the ground states in 177,179Au. The results are discussed within the complementary systematics of the reduced α-decay widths and nuclear g factors of low-lying, I π = 1 / 2 + states in the neutron-deficient lead region. The findings shed light on the unexpected hindrance of the 1 / 2 + → 1 / 2 + , 181Tl → g 177 Aug α decay, which is explained by a mixing of π 3 s 1 / 2 and π 2 d 3 / 2 configurations in 177Aug, whilst 181Tlg remains a near-pure π 3 s 1 / 2 .…
Spectroscopy of the long-lived excited state in the neutron-deficient nuclides Po195,197,199 by precision mass measurements
Direct mass measurements of the low-spin 3/2(-) and high-spin 13/2(+) states in the neutron-deficient isotopes Po-195 and Po-197 were performed with the Penning-trap mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP at ISOLDE-CERN. These measurements allow the determination of the excitation energy of the isomeric state arising from the nu i(13/2) orbital in Po-195,Po-197. Additionally, the excitation energy of isomeric states of lead, radon, and radium isotopes in this region were obtained from alpha-decay chains. These excitation energies complete the knowledge of the energy systematics in the region and confirm that the 13/2(+) states remain isomeric, independent of the number of valence neutrons.
Shape coexistence in Au 187 studied by laser spectroscopy
Hyperfine-structure parameters and isotope shift of the 9/2$^−$ isomeric state in $^{187}$Au relative to $^{197}$Au for the 267.6-nm atomic transition have been measured for the first time using the in-source resonance-ionization spectroscopy technique. The magnetic dipole moment and change in the mean-square charge radius for this 9/2$^−$ isomer have been deduced. The observed large isomer shift relative to the 1/2$^+$ ground state in $^{187}$Au confirms the occurrence of the shape coexistence in $^{187}$Au proposed earlier from the analysis of the nuclear spectroscopic data and particle plus triaxial rotor calculations. The analysis of the magnetic moment supports the previously proposed …
Spectroscopy of short-lived radioactive molecules
Molecular spectroscopy offers opportunities for the exploration of the fundamental laws of nature and the search for new particle physics beyond the standard model1–4. Radioactive molecules—in which one or more of the atoms possesses a radioactive nucleus—can contain heavy and deformed nuclei, offering high sensitivity for investigating parity- and time-reversal-violation effects5,6. Radium monofluoride, RaF, is of particular interest because it is predicted to have an electronic structure appropriate for laser cooling6, thus paving the way for its use in high-precision spectroscopic studies. Furthermore, the effects of symmetry-violating nuclear moments are strongly enhanced5,7–9 in molecu…
Isotope Shifts of Radium Monofluoride Molecules
Isotope shifts of $^{223-226,228}$Ra$^{19}$F were measured for different vibrational levels in the electronic transition $A^{2}{}{\Pi}_{1/2}\leftarrow X^{2}{}{\Sigma}^{+}$. The observed isotope shifts demonstrate the particularly high sensitivity of radium monofluoride to nuclear size effects, offering a stringent test of models describing the electronic density within the radium nucleus. Ab initio quantum chemical calculations are in excellent agreement with experimental observations. These results highlight some of the unique opportunities that short-lived molecules could offer in nuclear structure and in fundamental symmetry studies.
Charge radii and electromagnetic moments of At195–211
Hyperfine-structure parameters and isotope shifts of At195-211 have been measured for the first time at CERN-ISOLDE, using the in-source resonance-ionization spectroscopy method. The hyperfine structures of isotopes were recorded using a triad of experimental techniques for monitoring the photo-ion current. The Multi-Reflection Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer, in connection with a high-resolution electron multiplier, was used as an ion-counting setup for isotopes that either were affected by strong isobaric contamination or possessed a long half-life; the ISOLDE Faraday cups were used for cases with high-intensity beams; and the Windmill decay station was used for short-lived, predominantl…
Characterization of the shape-staggering effect in mercury nuclei
In rare cases, the removal of a single proton (Z) or neutron (N) from an atomic nucleus leads to a dramatic shape change. These instances are crucial for understanding the components of the nuclear interactions that drive deformation. The mercury isotopes (Z = 80) are a striking example1,2: their close neighbours, the lead isotopes (Z = 82), are spherical and steadily shrink with decreasing N. The even-mass (A = N + Z) mercury isotopes follow this trend. The odd-mass mercury isotopes 181,183,185Hg, however, exhibit noticeably larger charge radii. Due to the experimental difficulties of probing extremely neutron-deficient systems, and the computational complexity of modelling such heavy nucl…