Search results for "Fermium"
showing 10 items of 10 documents
Laser spectroscopy studies on nobelium
2017
Laser spectroscopy of the heaviest elements provides high-precision data on their atomic and nuclear properties. For example, atomic level energies and ionization potentials allow us to probe the influence of relativistic effects on their atomic structure and to benchmark state-of-the-art atomic structure calculations. In addition, it offers an alternative route to determine nuclear properties like spins, magnetic moments and quadrupole moments in a nuclear model-independent way. Recently, a sensitive method based on resonant laser ionization has been applied to nobelium isotopes around N = 152 at GSI Darmstadt. In pioneering experiments, several atomic states have been identified extending…
First Observation of Atomic Levels for the Element Fermium (Z=100)
2003
The atomic level structure of the element fermium was investigated for the first time using a sample of $2.7\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{10}$ atoms of the isotope $^{255}\mathrm{F}\mathrm{m}$ with a half-life of 20.1 h. The atoms were evaporated from a filament and stored in the argon buffer gas of an optical cell. Atomic levels were sought by the method of resonance ionization spectroscopy using an excimer-dye-laser combination. Two atomic levels were found at wave numbers $(25\text{ }099.8\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.2)$ and $(25\text{ }111.8\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.2)\text{ }\text{ }{\mathrm{c}\mathrm{m}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$. Partial transition rates to the $5{f}^{12}7{s}…
First Ionization Potentials of Fm, Md, No, and Lr
2018
We report the first ionization potentials (IP1) of the heavy actinides, fermium (Fm, atomic number Z = 100), mendelevium (Md, Z = 101), nobelium (No, Z = 102), and lawrencium (Lr, Z = 103), determined using a method based on a surface ionization process coupled to an online mass separation technique in an atom-at-a-time regime. The measured IP1 values agree well with those predicted by state-of-the-art relativistic calculations performed alongside the present measurements. Similar to the well-established behavior for the lanthanides, the IP1 values of the heavy actinides up to No increase with filling up the 5f orbital, while that of Lr is the lowest among the actinides. These results clear…
The cryogenic gas stopping cell of SHIPTRAP
2014
The overall efficiency of the Penning-trap mass spectrometer SHIPTRAP at GSI Darmstadt, employed for high-precision mass measurements of exotic nuclei in the mass region above fermium, is presently mostly limited by the stopping and extraction of fusion-evaporation products in the SHIPTRAP gas cell. To overcome this limitation a second-generation gas cell with increased stopping volume was designed. In addition, its operation at cryogenic temperatures leads to a higher gas density at a given pressure and an improved cleanliness of the helium buffer gas. Here, the results of experiments with a 219Rn recoil ion source are presented. An extraction efficiency of 74(3)% was obtained, a significa…
Resonance ionization spectroscopy of fermium (Z=100)
2003
Laser spectroscopy has been applied for the first time to measure resonant transition frequencies of fermium (Zs 100). A number of 2.7=10 atoms was electrodeposited on a Ta filament and covered with a 1 mm Ti layer. Fm 10
Atom-at-a-time laser resonance ionization spectroscopy of nobelium
2016
Resonance ionization spectroscopy of nobelium (atomic number 102) reveals its ground-state transition and an upper limit for its ionization potential, paving the way to characterizing even heavier elements via optical spectroscopy. Characterizing the heaviest elements in the periodic table is a gruelling task because they are radioactive, exist only for split seconds at a time and need to be artificially produced in sufficient quantities by complicated procedures. The heaviest element that has been characterized by optical spectroscopy is fermium, which has an atomic number of 100. Mustapha Laatiaoui et al. extend the methods used for fermium to perform optical spectroscopy on nobelium (ato…
Direct mass measurements of the heaviest elements with Penning traps
2013
Abstract Penning-trap mass spectrometry (PTMS) is a mature technique to provide atomic masses with highest precision. Applied to radionuclides it enables us to investigate their nuclear structure via binding energies and derived quantities such as nucleon separation energies. Recent progress in slowing down radioactive ion beams in buffer gas cells in combination with advanced ion-manipulation techniques has opened the door to access even the elements above fermium by PTMS. Such elements are produced in complete fusion–evaporation reactions of heavy ions with lead, bismuth, and actinide targets at very low rates. Pioneering high-precision mass measurements of nobelium and lawrencium isotope…
The performance of the cryogenic buffer-gas stopping cell of SHIPTRAP
2018
Direct high-precision mass spectrometry of the heaviest elements with SHIPTRAP, at GSI in Darmstadt, Germany, requires high efficiency to deal with the low production rates of such exotic nuclides. A second-generation gas stopping cell, operating at cryogenic temperatures, was developed and recently integrated into the relocated system to boost the overall efficiency. Offline measurements using 223Ra and 225Ac recoil-ion sources placed inside the gas volume were performed to characterize the gas stopping cell with respect to purity and extraction efficiency. In addition, a first online test using the fusion-evaporation residue 254No was performed, resulting in a combined stopping and extrac…
Experimental observation of the M1 scissors mode in $^{254}No$
2022
Physics letters / B 834, 137479 (2022). doi:10.1016/j.physletb.2022.137479
Nuclear isomers in superheavy elements as stepping stones towards the island of stability
2006
The stability of an atomic nucleus is determined by the outcome of a tug-of-war between the attractive strong nuclear force and the repulsive electrostatic force between the protons in the nucleus. If 100 protons and about 150 neutrons or more are assembled into a nucleus, the repulsion usually becomes dominant and causes the nucleus to fission. For certain 'magic numbers' of protons and neutrons this repulsion can be overcome and the nucleus stabilized. In particular an 'island of stability' is predicted beyond the actinides, where long-lived or even stable superheavy elements can exist, but its precise limits are unknown. Experiments can help determine where this island lies, however. Spe…