Mass Measurements of 114–124,130Xe with the ISOLTRAP Penning Trap Spectrometer

The masses of the xenon isotopes with 114≤A≤123 were directly measured for the first time. The experiments were carried out at the ISOLTRAP triple trap spectrometer at the on-line mass separator ISOLDE/CERN. A mass resolving power of the Penning trap spectrometer of m/Δm≈500 000 was chosen and an accuracy of δm≈12keV for all investigated Xe isotopes was achieved. An atomic mass evaluation was performed and the results of this adjustment are compared with theoretical predictions. The new results for the xenon isotopes and their effects on neighboring nuclides are discussed within the two-neutron separation energy picture. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

High-precision masses of 29-33Mg and the N = 20 shell “closure”

High-precision mass measurements have been performed on the exotic magnesium isotopes ^29-33Mg using the MISTRAL radiofrequency spectrometer, especially suited for very short-lived nuclides. This method, combined with the powerful tool of resonant laser ionization at ISOLDE, has provided a significant reduction of uncertainty for the masses of the most exotic Mg isotopes: a relative error of 7×10^-7 was achieved for the weakly produced ³³Mg that has a half-life of only 90ms. Moreover, the mass of ³³Mg is found to change by over 250keV. Verifying and minimizing binding energy uncertainties in this region of the nuclear chart is important for understanding the lack of binding energy that is normally associated with magic numbers.     

MISTRAL: A new program for precise atomic mass determinations of nuclides far from stability

The MISTRAL project (Mass measurements at ISolde using a Transmission RAdiofrequency spectrometer on-Line) is scheduled to begin experiments towards the end of 1996. With high resolution (10⁵), potentially high accuracy (5×10^–7) and excellent sensitivity (10 s^–1), the MISTRAL spectrometer promises to provide needed mass measurements in regions of very-short lived nuclei. The spectrometer operation principles are described and a discussion concerning the interest in using highly charged ions is presented.CSNSM, Orsay; IAP, Bucharest; PPE Division, CERN; GSI, Darmstadt; University of Mainz; McGill University, Montreal; IPN, Orsay; Chalmers University, Göteborg; University of Giessen and the ISOLDE Collaboration.     

Penning trap mass spectrometry for nuclear structure studies

High-precision mass measurements as performed at the Penning trap mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP at ISOLDE/CERN are an important contribution to the investigation of nuclear structure. Precise nuclear masses with less than 0.1 ppm relative mass uncertainty allow stringent tests of mass models and formulae that are used to predict mass values of nuclides far from the valley of stability. Furthermore, an investigation of nuclear structure effects like shell or sub-shell closures, deformations, and halos is possible. In addition to a sophisticated experimental setup for precise mass measurements, a radioactive ion-beam facility that delivers a large variety of short-lived nuclides with sufficient yield is required. An overview of the results from the mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP is given and its limits and possibilities are described.      

ISOLTRAP: An on-line Penning trap for mass spectrometry on short-lived nuclides

ISOLTRAP is a Penning trap mass spectrometer for high-precision mass measurements on short-lived nuclides installed at the on-line isotope separator ISOLDE at CERN. The masses of close to 300 radionuclides have been determined up to now. The applicability of Penning trap mass spectrometry to mass measurements of exotic nuclei has been extended considerably at ISOLTRAP by improving and developing this double Penning trap mass spectrometer over the past two decades. The accurate determination of nuclear binding energies far from stability includes nuclei that are produced at rates less than 100 ions/s and with half-lives well below 100ms. The mass-resolving power reaches 10⁷ corresponding to 10keV for medium heavy nuclei and the uncertainty of the resulting mass values has been pushed down to below 10^-8. The article describes technical developments achieved since 1996 and the present performance of ISOLTRAP.     

High-accuracy mass measurements in ion traps and storage rings

High-accuracy mass measurements have recently been performed on radioactive isotopes produced by proton-induced spallation at the on-line isotope separator ISOLDE at CERN and by heavy-ion projectile fragmentation at the fragment separator FRS at GSI. At ISOLDE, singly charged ions were injected into the Penning trap mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP and their masses determined by observing their cyclotron frequencies in the homogeneous magnetic field of the ion trap. At GSI, bare, hydrogen, or helium-like ions were injected into the experimental storage ring ESR, electron-cooled to the same velocity, and their masses determined by observing their revolution frequencies in the ESR. With ISOLTRAP and ESR, resolving power in the range of 4 × 10⁵< = m/Δ m(FWHM)< = 10⁷ and an accuracy up to \delta m/m~ 10^-7 were achieved for radioactive isotopes. Mass measurements of highly charged ions of stable isotopes were performed at Stockholm by use of SMILETRAP. In this case, a resolving power of about 10⁸ and an accuracy close to 10^-9 were obtained. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Exploring new mass regions with the ISOLTRAP spectrometer

First direct mass measurements on rare earth isotopes around ¹⁴⁶Gd have been performed with the Penning trap mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP at ISOLDE/CERN. More than 40 isotopes of the elements Pr, Nd, Pm, Sm, Eu, Dy and Ho have been measured with an accuracy of typically 1 × 10^-7. In the case of ¹⁴¹Sm isomeric and ground state (ΔE = 175 keV) were resolved. Since isobaric contaminations are present in the ISOLDE beam, these measurements on rare earth isotopes became only possible after the installation of a new cooler trap which acts an isobar separator. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

High-accuracy mass determination of unstable cesium and barium isotopes

Direct mass measurements of short-lived Cs and Ba isotopes have been performed with the tandem Penning trap mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP installed at the on-line isotope separator ISOLDE at CERN. Typically, a mass resolving power of 600 000 and an accuracy of δm ≈ 13 keV have been obtained. The masses of ^123,124,126Ba and ^122mCs were measured for the first time. A least-squares adjustment has been performed and the experimental masses are compared with theoretical ones, particularly in the frame of a macroscopic-microscopic model.     

New mass data for the rp-process above Z = 32

High-accuracy mass measurements have been performed with the Penning trap mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP at ISOLDE/CERN. The short-lived nuclides ^{70, 71, 72, 73}Se , ^{72, 73, 74, 75}Br , and ^{98, 99, 100, 101, 103}Ag have been measured with an average uncertainty of a few keV. The data are important input for nucleosynthesis calculations of the rp-process beyond Z = 32 .     

The ISOLDE laser ion source for exotic nuclei

At the ISOLDE on line mass separator a system of copper vapor lasers and dye lasers serves for resonant ionization of atoms inside a hot cavity attached to the target. Radioactive ion beams of Yb, Ag, Mn, Ni, Zn, Be, Cu, Cd and Sn were produced with the Resonance Ionization Laser Ion Source (RILIS). Two and three step excitation schemes are used, providing an ionization efficiency of about 10%. Thanks to the use of the RILIS it became possible to ionize beryllium efficiently at ISOLDE, and all particle stable Be isotopes could be separated for the first time. Separation of Ag and Cu nuclear isomers was achieved in the ion source by appropriate tuning of the laser wavelength. New isotopes of Ag, Mn, Zn, Cd and Sn were found, including the r process “waiting point” nucleus ¹²⁹Ag. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Laser Spectroscopy and \beta-NMR Measurements of Short-Lived Mg Isotopes

The feasibility of studying the neutron-rich ²⁹Mg, ³¹Mg, and ³³Mg isotopes has been demonstrated with the laser and β-NMR spectroscopy setup at ISOLDE/CERN. The values of the magnetic moment and the nuclear spin of ³¹Mg are reported and reveal an intruder ground state. This proves the weakening of N = 20 shell gap and places this nucleus inside the so-called ‘island of inversion.’ The experimental setup and technique, as well as the results, are presented.     

Study of short-lived bromine isotopes

First experiments in the systematic study of the structure of ground states and isomeric states of Br isotopes as function of neutron number at ISOLDE, CERN are reported. The isotopes^{74g.74m,77,78,84g,84m}Br have been implanted into iron and studied with the techniques of low temperature nuclear orientation and nuclear magnetic resonance of oriented nuclei (NMR/ON). The experiments were performed with the NICOLE on-line nuclear orientation set-up using the isotope separator ISOLDE-3. NMR/ON experiments were successful for^74mBr with continuous on-line implantation and for⁷⁷Br. Using as value of the hyperfine field B_hf(BrFe)=+81.3S (3) T we obtain |g (^74mBr)|=0.455 (3) and |g (⁷⁷Br)|=0.6492 (3). Static nuclear orientation data have been measured for all above mentioned isotopes. From these data we derive |μ(⁷⁸Br, I=1)|=0.13 (3) and |μ(^84gBr, I=2)|=1.9 (7). The results are discussed within the systematics of the bromine isotopes.     

Accurate masses of unstable rare-earth isotopes by ISOLTRAP

Direct mass measurements of neutron-deficient rare-earth isotopes in the vicinity of ¹⁴⁶Gd were performed with the Penning trap mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP at ISOLDE/CERN. This paper reports on the measurement of more than 40 isotopes of the elements praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, dysprosium and holmium, that have been measured with a typical accuracy of m 14 keV. An atomic mass evaluation has been performed taking into account other experimental mass values via a least-squares adjustment. The results of the adjustment are discussed. Received: 18 April 2000 / Accepted: 12 July 2000     

Preparing a journey to the east of 208Pb with ISOLTRAP: Isobaric purification at A = 209 and new masses for 211-213Fr and 211Ra

With the Penning trap mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP, located at ISOLDE/CERN, preparatory work has been performed towards mass and decay studies on neutron-rich Hg and Tl isotopes beyond N = 126 . The properties of these isotopes are not well known because of large isobaric contamination coming mainly from surface-ionised Fr. Within the studies, production tests using several target-ion source combinations were performed. It was furthermore demonstrated around mass number A = 209 that the resolving power required to purify Fr is achievable with ISOLTRAP. In addition, masses of several isobaric contaminants, ^211-213Fr and ²¹¹Ra , were determined with a three-fold improved precision. The results influence masses of more than 20 other nuclides in the ²⁰⁸Pb region.     

Recent Results on Ne and Mg from the MISTRAL Mass Measurement Program at ISOLDE

The MISTRAL experiment (Mass measurements at ISOLDE with a Transmission and Radiofrequency spectrometer on-Line), conceived for very short-lived nuclides, has reached the end of its commissioning phase. Installed in 1997, results have been obtained consistent with all aspects of the projected spectrometer performance: nuclides with half-lives as short as 30 ms have been measured and accuracies of 0.4 ppm have been achieved, despite the presence of a systematic shift and difficulties with isobaric contamination. Masses of several nuclides, including ^25–26Ne and ³²Mg that forms the famous island of inversion around N=20, have been significantly improved. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Shell effects in the evolution of the mass asymmetry in heavy-ion collisions leading to composite systems withZ=108

Fragment mass distributions are presented obtained in the heavy-ion reactions²²Ne+²⁴⁹Cf,³²S+²³⁸U,⁴⁰Ar+²³²Th and⁵⁶Fe+²⁰⁸Pb leading to composite systems with equal nuclear charge numberZ=108. The experiments were performed at the heavy-ion cyclotron U 300 of the Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions in Dubna. The spectrometer DEMAS was used to measure the time-of-flight values and the laboratory angles of the correlated fragments. The shape of the mass distributions strongly depends on the initial mass asymmetry. When decreasing the bombarding energy down to values near the Coulomb barrier, the mass distributions obtained in the reactions³²S+²³⁸U and⁴⁰Ar+²³²Th exhibit relative maxima ofM≈205 interpreted to be due to stabilizing effects of nuclear shells during the fragmentation process.     

A multi-reflection time-of-flight mass separator for isobaric purification of radioactive ion beams

A multi-reflection time-of-flight mass separator (MR-ToF-MS) for the enhancement of the performance of the Penning-trap mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP at the on-line isotope separator ISOLDE/CERN has been built and investigated at an off-line test facility. The MR-ToF-MS consists of two ion-optical mirrors between which oscillating ions are separated according to their different mass-over-charge ratios m/q. Flight paths of several hundreds of meters are folded to an apparatus length of less than one meter. Preliminary tests resulted in a mass-resolving power of up to m/??m????80,000, and the separation was demonstrated for the isobaric ions CO^?+? and $\mathrm{N}_2^+$ . The MR-ToF-MS will support the existing purification methods of ISOLTRAP and will extend the access to nuclides produced with high isobaric contamination yields at the ISOLDE facility.     

Nuclide yields of light fission products from thermal-neutron induced fission of 233U at different kinetic energies

The yields of light fission products from thermal-neutron induced fission of ²³³U are measured as a function of their mass A, their nuclear charge Z, their kinetic energy E and their ionic charge state q at the recoil spectrometer Lohengrin of the Institut Laue-Langevin in Grenoble. The mass yields are determined by intercepting the fragments with an ionization chamber of high energy resolution positioned at the focal plane of the spectrometer. The nuclear charges and their yields are determined with the same ionization chamber by measuring the residual energy of fission products, selected monoenergetically by Lohengrin, behind a passive absorber made of parylene-C. The nuclear charge resolution enabled by this detector device is considerably improved to Z/dZ = 58. The nuclear charge and mass distributions summed over all ionic charge states are listed within the mass range 79 ⩽ A ⩽ 106 at 6 energies: E = 85.34, 90.41, 95.46, 100.50, 105.55 and 110.55 MeV. The energy-integrated nuclear charge and mass yields are also given. The isotonic and isotopic yields are shown. An odd-even effect in the yields is found for the protons as well as for the neutrons at all kinetic energies. The yield weighted total odd-even effect for the protons is found to be (22.1 ± 2.1)%, for the neutrons (5.4 ± 1.7)%. An odd-even effect for the protons in the mean kinetic energy is also observed. The displacement of the mean isobaric nuclear charges from the unchanged charge-density values and the variances of the isobaric nuclear-charge distributions reveal fine structures in their mass dependences.     

Precise atomic masses of neutron-rich Br and Rb nuclei close to the r-process path

The Penning trap mass spectrometer JYFLTRAP, coupled to the Ion-Guide Isotope Separator On-Line (IGISOL) facility at Jyv?skyl?, was employed to measure the atomic masses of neutron-rich ^85-92Br and ^94-97Rb isotopes with a typical accuracy less than 10keV. Discrepancies with the older data are discussed. Comparison to different mass models is presented. Details of nuclear structure, shell and subshell closures are investigated by studying the two-neutron separation energy and the shell gap energy.     

Mg isotopes and the disappearance of magic N=20

Collinear laser spectroscopy and β-NMR spectroscopy with optical pumping were applied at ISOLDE/CERN to measure for the first time the magnetic moments of neutron-rich ²⁷Mg, ²⁹Mg, ³¹Mg and ³³Mg, along with the spins of the two latter. The magnetic moment of ²⁷Mg was derived from its hyperfine structure detected in UV fluorescent light, whereas the nuclear magnetic resonance observed in β-decay asymmetry from a polarised ensemble of nuclei gave the magnetic moment of ²⁹Mg. For ³¹Mg and ³³Mg, the hyperfine structure and nuclear magnetic resonance gave the spin and the magnetic moment. The preliminary results for ²⁷Mg and ²⁹Mg are consistent with a large neutron shell gap at N=20, whereas data on ³¹Mg show that for this nucleus N=20 is not a magic number, which is also the case for ³³Mg, based on preliminary analysis. Thus, the two latter isotopes belong to the “island of inversion.” Magdalena Kowalska for the IS 427 collaboration at ISOLDE/CERN.