New precision mass measurements of neutron-rich calcium and potassium isotopes and three-nucleon forces

We present precision Penning trap mass measurements of neutron-rich calcium and potassium isotopes in the vicinity of neutron number N=32. Using the TITAN system, the mass of ^{51}K was measured for the first time, and the precision of the ^{51,52}Ca mass values were improved significantly. The new mass values show a dramatic increase of the binding energy compared to those reported in the atomic mass evaluation. In particular, ^{52}Ca is more bound by 1.74?MeV, and the behavior with neutron number deviates substantially from the tabulated values. An increased binding was predicted recently based on calculations that include three-nucleon (3N) forces. We present a comparison to improved calculations, which agree remarkably with the evolution of masses with neutron number, making neutron-rich calcium isotopes an exciting region to probe 3N forces.