0000000000249732
AUTHOR
S. Purushothaman
showing 17 related works from this author
Separation of atomic and molecular ions by ion mobility with an RF carpet
2021
Gas-filled stopping cells are used at accelerator laboratories for the thermalization of high-energy radioactive ion beams. Common challenges of many stopping cells are a high molecular background of extracted ions and limitations of extraction efficiency due to space-charge effects. At the FRS Ion Catcher at GSI, a new technique for removal of ionized molecules prior to their extraction out of the stopping cell has been developed. This technique utilizes the RF carpet for the separation of atomic ions from molecular contaminant ions through their difference in ion mobility. Results from the successful implementation and test during an experiment with a 600~MeV/u $^{124}$Xe primary beam are…
Multi-nucleon transfer reactions at ion catcher facilities : a new way to produce and study heavy neutron-rich nuclei
2020
Abstract The production of very neutron-rich nuclides heavier than fission fragments is an ongoing experimental challenge. Multi-nucleon transfer reactions (MNT) have been suggested as a method to produce these nuclides. By thermalizing the reaction products in gas-filled stopping cells, we can deliver them as cooled high-quality beams to decay, laser and mass spectrometry experiments. High precision mass spectrometry will allow for the first time to universally and unambiguously identify the atomic and proton numbers of the ions produced in MNT reactions. In this way their ground and isomeric state properties can be studied in high-precision measurements. In experiments at IGISOL, Finland …
Cryogenic helium as stopping medium for high-energy ions
2008
We have investigated the survival and transport efficiency of Ra-219 ions emitted by a Ra-223 source in high-density cryogenic helium gas, with ionisation of the gas induced by a proton beam. The combined efficiency of ion survival and transport by an applied electric field was measured as a function of ionisation rate density for electric fields up to 160 V/cm and for three temperature and density combinations: 77 K, 0.18 mg/cm(3), 10 K, 0.18 mg/cm(3) and 10 K, 0.54 mg/cm(3). At low beam intensity or high electric field, an efficiency of 30%, is obtained, confirming earlier results. A sharp drop in efficiency is observed at a "threshold" ionisation rate density which increases with the squ…
Design, construction and cooling system performance of a prototype cryogenic stopping cell for the Super-FRS at FAIR
2015
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
2016
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 …
Production of Exotic Nuclei via MNT Reactions Using Gas Cells
2020
The use of multi-nucleon transfer (MNT) reactions to produce neutron-rich nuclei in the heavy region has received an increased attention in the last decade. The feasibility of employing such reactions at the FRS Ion Catcher facility at GSI and the IGISOL facility at JYFL is studied using a combination of theoretical calculations and experiment simulations. The reactions are computed within a Langevin-type model, and the Geant program is used to simulate the transport of the resulting products within the experimental setups of the above-mentioned facilities. The angular distribution of ion release, possible target choices and target-to-beam-dump distances are discussed. peerReviewed
The FRS Ion Catcher
2013
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
2015
Physics letters / B 744, 137 - 141 (2015). doi:10.1016/j.physletb.2015.03.047
A Novel Method for the Measurement of Half-Lives and Decay Branching Ratios of Exotic Nuclei
2019
A novel method for simultaneous measurement of masses, Q-values, isomer excitation energies, half-lives and decay branching ratios of exotic nuclei has been demonstrated. The method includes first use of a stopping cell as an ion trap, combining containment of precursors and decay-recoils for variable durations in a cryogenic stopping cell (CSC), and afterwards the identification and counting of them by a multiple-reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometer (MR-TOF-MS). Feasibility has been established by recording the decay and growth of $^{216}$Po and $^{212}$Pb (alpha decay) and of $^{119m2}$Sb (t$_{1/2}$ = 850$\pm$90 ms) and $^{119g}$Sb (isomer transition), obtaining half-lives and bran…
Mass and half-life measurements of neutron-deficient iodine isotopes
2020
The European physical journal / A 56(5), 143 (2020). doi:10.1140/epja/s10050-020-00153-5
Removal of molecular contamination in low-energy RIBs by the isolation-dissociation-isolation method
2020
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research / B 463, 324 - 326 (2020). doi:10.1016/j.nimb.2019.04.072
First experimental results of a cryogenic stopping cell with short-lived, heavy uranium fragments produced at 1000 MeV/u
2013
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…
Experimental program of the Super-FRS Collaboration at FAIR and developments of related instrumentation
2016
The physics program at the super-conducting fragment separator (Super-FRS) at FAIR, being operated in a multiple-stage, high-resolution spectrometer mode, is discussed. The Super-FRS will produce, separate and transport radioactive beams at high energies up to 1.5 AGeV, and it can be also used as a stand-alone experimental device together with ancillary detectors. Various combinations of the magnetic sections of the Super-FRS can be operated in dispersive, achromatic or dispersion-matched spectrometer ion-optical modes, which allow measurements of momentum distributions of secondary-reaction products with high resolution and precision. A number of unique experiments in atomic, nuclear and h…
Mass measurements of As, Se, and Br nuclei, and their implication on the proton-neutron interaction strength toward the N=Z line
2021
Mass measurements of the $^{69}$As, $^{70,71}$Se and $^{71}$Br isotopes, produced via fragmentation of a $^{124}$Xe primary beam at the FRS at GSI, have been performed with the multiple-reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometer (MR-TOF-MS) of the FRS Ion Catcher with an unprecedented mass resolving power of almost 1,000,000. For the $^{69}$As isotope, this is the first direct mass measurement. A mass uncertainty of 22 keV was achieved with only 10 events. For the $^{70}$Se isotope, a mass uncertainty of 2.6 keV was obtained, corresponding to a relative accuracy of $\delta$m/m = 4.0$\times 10^{-8}$, with less than 500 events. The masses of the $^{71}$Se and $^{71}$Br isotopes were measured…
High-resolution, accurate multiple-reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometry for short-lived, exotic nuclei of a few events in their ground and low…
2019
Physical review / C covering nuclear physics 99(6), 064313 (2019). doi:10.1103/PhysRevC.99.064313
Positive ion extraction across the superfluid-vapor helium interface
2009
The extraction efficiency of positive (219)Rn ions across the superfluid-vapor helium interface above similar to 1.3 K indicates that extraction results from thermal activation across a barrier of about 20 K. Below similar to 1.3 K, the extraction efficiency is constant at about 0.7%. The evaporation of the superfluid surface by second sound pulses has a negative impact on the ion extraction, but not on the ions themselves. It takes 3.2( 6) s at 1.60 K and 15( 6) s at 1.15 K for the extraction process to recover from a disturbed state of yet unknown nature.
High-resolution, accurate MR-TOF-MS for short-lived, exotic nuclei of few events in their ground and low-lying isomeric states
2019
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…