Accurate atomic mass measurements of neutron-deficient and neutron-rich nuclides around the doubly-magic 208Pb and of neutron-rich cesium isotopes were performed with the Penning trap mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP at ISOLDE/CERN. The masses of 145,147Cs, 181,183Tl, 186Tlm, 187Tl, 196Tlm, 205Tl, 197Pbm, 208Pb, 190 to 197Bi, 209,215,216Bi, 203,205,229Fr, and 214,229,230Ra were determined. The obtained relative mass uncertainty in the range of $2 \cdot 10^{-7}$ to $2 \cdot 10^{-8}$ is not only required for safe identification of isomeric states but also allows mapping the detailed structure of the mass surface. A mass adjustment procedure was carried out and the results included into the Atomic Mass Evaluation. The resulting separation energies are discussed and the mass spectrometric and laser spectroscopic data are examined for possible correlations.
We measured the production of the long-lived nuclides Bi-207, Pb-202, and Hg-194 in a sample of natural Pb due to high-energy neutron interactions using a neutron beam at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center. The activated sample was counted by a HPGe detector to measure the amount of radioactive nuclides present. These nuclides are critical in understanding potential backgrounds in low background experiments utilizing large amounts of Pb shielding due to cosmogenic neutron interactions in the Pb while residing on the Earth's surface. By scaling the LANSCE neutron flux to a cosmic neutron flu…
Mass measurements of $^{49,50}$Sc, $^{70}$As, $^{73}$Br and $^{196}$Hg nuclides produced at CERN's radioactive-ion beam facility ISOLDE are presented. The measurements were performed at the ISOLTRAP mass spectrometer by use of the multi-reflection time-of-flight and the Penning-trap mass spectrometry techniques. The new results agree well with previously known literature values. The mass accuracy for all cases has been improved.
High-precision Penning trap mass measurements on the stable nuclide 27Al as well as on the short-lived radionuclides 26Al and 38,39Ca have been performed by use of radiofrequency excitation with time-separated oscillatory fields, i.e. Ramsey's method, as recently introduced for the excitation of the ion motion in a Penning trap, was applied. A comparison with the conventional method of a single continuous excitation demonstrates its advantage of up to ten times shorter measurements. The new mass values of 26,27Al clarify conflicting data in this specific mass region. In addition, the resulting…
Penning trap mass measurements of short-lived nuclides have been performed for the first time with highly-charged ions (HCI), using the TITAN facility at TRIUMF. Compared to singly-charged ions, this provides an improvement in experimental precision that scales with the charge state q. Neutron-deficient Rb-isotopes have been charge bred in an electron beam ion trap to q = 8 - 12+ prior to injection into the Penning trap. In combination with the Ramsey excitation scheme, this unique setup creating low energy, highly-charged ions at a radioactive beam facility opens the door to unrivalled precis…
Direct mass measurements of the low-spin $3/2^{(-)}$ and high-spin $13/2^{(+)}$ states in the neutron-deficient isotopes $^{195}$Po, $^{197}$Po, and high-spin $13/2^{(+)}$ state in $^{199}$Po 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 $ν$i$_{13/2}$ orbital in $^{195,197}$Po. Additionally, the excitation energy of isomeric states of lead, radon, and radium isotopes in this region were obtained from $α$-decay chains. The new excitation energies complete …
Revolution frequency measurements of individual ions in storage rings require sophisticated timing detectors. One of common approaches for such detectors is the detection of secondary electrons released from a thin foil due to penetration of the stored ions. A new method based on the analysis of intensities of secondary electrons was developed which enables determination of the charge of each ion simultaneously with the measurement of its revolution frequency. Although the mass-over-charge ratios of $^{51}$Co$^{27+}$ and $^{34}$Ar$^{18+}$ ions are almost identical, and therefore, the ions can …
The 'island of inversion' around $^{32}$Mg is one of the most important paradigm for studying the disappearance of the stabilizing 'magic' of a shell closure. We present the first Penning-trap mass measurements of the exotic nuclides $^{29-31}$Na and $^{30-34}$Mg, which allow a precise determination of the empirical shell gap for $^{32}$Mg. The new value of 1.10(3) MeV is the lowest observed shell gap for any nuclide with a canonical magic number.
The recently confirmed neutron-shell closure at N = 32 has been investigated for the first time below the magic proton number Z = 20 with mass measurements of the exotic isotopes 52,53K, the latter being the shortest-lived nuclide investigated at the online mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP. The resulting two-neutron separation energies reveal a 3 MeV shell gap at N = 32, slightly lower than for 52Ca, highlighting the doubly-magic nature of this nuclide. Skyrme-Hartree-Fock-Boguliubov and ab initio Gorkov-Green function calculations are challenged by the new measurements but reproduce qualitatively t…
Efficient production of short-lived radioactive isotopes in inverse reaction kinematics is an important technique for various applications. It is particularly interesting when the isotope of interest is only a few nucleons away from a stable isotope. In this article production via charge exchange and stripping reactions in combination with a magnetic separator is explored. The relation between the separator transmission efficiency, the production yield, and the choice of beam energy is discussed. The results of some exploratory experiments will be presented.
A novel technique for broadband high-precision mass measurements of short-lived exotic nuclides is reported. It is based on the isochronous mass spectrometry (IMS) and realizes simultaneous determinations of revolution time and velocity of short-lived stored ions at the cooler storage ring CSRe in Lanzhou. The new technique, named as the $Bρ$-defined IMS or $Bρ$-IMS, boosts the efficiency, sensitivity, and accuracy of mass measurements, and is applied here to measure masses of neutron-deficient $fp$-shell nuclides. In a single accelerator setting, masses of $^{46}$Cr, $^{50}$Fe and $^{54}$Ni a…
Recently, experimental researches on the $α$ decay with long lifetime are one of hot topics in the contemporary nuclear physics [e.g. N. Kinoshita {\sl et al.} (2012) and J. W. Beeman {\sl et al.} (2012) ]. In this study, we have systematically investigated the extremely long-lived $α$-decaying nuclei within a generalized density-dependent cluster model involving the experimental nuclear charge radii. In detail, the important density distribution of daughter nuclei is deduced from the corresponding experimental charge radii, leading to an improved $α$-core potential in the quantum tunneling ca…
The nuclide 18F disintegrates to 18O by beta+ emission (96.86%) and electron capture (3.14%) with a half-life of 1.8288 h. It is widely used in nuclear medicine for positron emission tomography (PET). Because of its short half-life this nuclide requires the development of fast measuring methods to be standardized. The combination of LSC methods with digital techniques proves to be a good alternative to get low uncertainties for this, and other, short lived nuclides. A radioactive solution of 18F has been standardized by coincidence counting with a LSC, using the logical sum of double coinciden…
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 th…
The close similarity between the shell structures in the 132Sn and 208Pb regions is a well known phenomenon. Thus, using the correspondence between the high-j orbits located above the Z=50 and Z=82 shell gaps, we discuss the evolutions of the fully aligned states with one broken proton pair in the N=82 and N=126 isotones. A long-lived isomeric state was discovered in 217Pa more than thirty years ago and despite two other experiments giving new experimental results, the discussions on its main properties (spin, parity, configuration) remained inconclusive. Then, using the comparison with the I^…
We have studied properties and shell structure of the superheavy elements from Z=102 to Z=120 within the framework of the RMF theory. The region of study spans nuclides with neutron numbers N=150-190. The Lagrangian model NL-SV1 with the inclusion of the vector self-coupling of the omega-meson has been employed in this work. We have performed RMF + BCS calculations for an axially deformed configuration of nuclei. The ground-state binding energies, single-particle properties and quadrupole deformation of nuclei have been obtained from the mean-field minimizations. Two-neutron separation energie…
The absolute atomic mass of $^{208}$Pb has been determined with a fractional uncertainty of $7\times 10^{-11}$ by measuring the cyclotron-frequency ratio $R$ of $^{208}$Pb$^{41+}$ to $^{132}$Xe$^{26+}$ with the high-precision Penning-trap mass spectrometer Pentatrap and computing the binding energies $E_{\text{Pb}}$ and $E_{\text{Xe}}$ of the missing 41 and 26 atomic electrons, respectively, with the ab initio fully relativistic multi-configuration Dirac-Hartree-Fock (MCDHF) method. $R$ has been measured with a relative precision of $9\times 10^{-12}$. $E_{\text{Pb}}$ and $E_{\text{Xe}}$ have …
Isochronous mass spectrometry has been applied in the storage ring CSRe to measure the masses of the neutron-rich $^{\operatorname{52-54}}$Sc and $^{54,56}$Ti nuclei. The new mass excess values $ME$($^{52}$Sc) $=$ $-40525(65)$ keV, $ME$($^{53}$Sc) $=$ $-38910(80)$ keV, and $ME$($^{54}$Sc) $=$ $-34485(360)$ keV, deviate from the Atomic Mass Evaluation 2012 by 2.3$σ$, 2.8$σ$, and 1.7$σ$, respectively. These large deviations significantly change the systematics of the two-neutron separation energies of scandium isotopes. The empirical shell gap extracted from our new experimental results shows a …
Masses of 56,57Fe, 53Co^m, 53,56Co, 55,56,57Ni, 57,58Cu, and 59,60Zn have been determined with the JYFLTRAP Penning trap mass spectrometer at IGISOL with a precision of dm/m \le 3 x 10^{-8}. The QEC values for 53Co, 55Ni, 56Ni, 57Cu, 58Cu, and 59Zn have been measured directly with a typical precision of better than 0.7 keV and Coulomb displacement energies have been determined. The Q values for proton captures on 55Co, 56Ni, 58Cu, and 59Cu have been measured directly. The precision of the proton-capture Q value for 56Ni(p,gamma)57Cu, Q(p,gamma) = 689.69(51) keV, crucial for astrophysical rp-pr…
In this paper, we present direct mass measurements of neutron-rich $^{86}$Kr projectile fragments conducted at the HIRFL-CSR facility in Lanzhou by employing the Isochronous Mass Spectrometry (IMS) method. The new mass excesses of $^{52-54}$Sc nuclides are determined to be -40492(82), -38928(114), -34654(540) keV, which show a significant increase of binding energy compared to the reported ones in the Atomic Mass Evaluation 2012 (AME12). In particular, $^{53}$Sc and $^{54}$Sc are more bound by 0.8 MeV and 1.0 MeV, respectively. The behavior of the two neutron separation energy with neutron num…
100Sn is of singular interest for nuclear structure. Its closed-shell proton and neutron configuration exhibit exceptional binding and 100Sn is the heaviest nucleus comprising protons and neutrons in equal number, a feature that enhances the contribution of the short-range, proton-neutron pairing interaction and strongly influences its decay via the weak interaction. Decays studies in the region of 100Sn have attempted to prove its doubly magic character but few have studied it from the ab initio theoretical perspective and none have addressed the odd-proton nuclear forces. Here we present, th…
Isotopic studies of meteorites have provided ample evidence for the presence of short-lived radionuclides (SLRs) with half-lives of less than 100 Myr at the time of the formation of the solar system. The origins of all known SLRs is heavily debated and remains uncertain, but the plausible scenarios can be broadly separated into either local production or outside injection of stellar nucleosynthesis products. The SLR production models are limited in part by reliance on nuclear theory for modeling reactions that lack experimental measurements. Reducing uncertainty on critical reaction cross sect…
High-precision mass measurements of more than thirty neutron-rich nuclides around the Z=28 closed proton shell were performed with the triple-trap mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP at ISOLDE/CERN to address the question of a possible neutron shell closure at N=40. The results, for 57,60,64-69Ni (Z=28), 65-74,76Cu (Z=29), and 63-65,68-78Ga (Z=31), have a relative uncertainty of the order of 10^8. In particular, the masses of 72-74,76Cu have been measured for the first time. We analyse the resulting mass surface for signs of magicity, comparing the behavior of N=40 to that of known magic numbers and to…
Ramsey's method of separated oscillatory fields is applied to the excitation of the cyclotron motion of short-lived ions in a Penning trap to improve the precision of their measured mass. The theoretical description of the extracted ion-cyclotron-resonance line shape is derived out and its correctness demonstrated experimentally by measuring the mass of the short-lived $^{38}$Ca nuclide with an uncertainty of $1.6\cdot 10^{-8}$ using the ISOLTRAP Penning trap mass spectrometer at CERN. The mass value of the superallowed beta-emitter $^{38}$Ca is an important contribution for testing the conser…
A novel isochronous mass spectrometry, termed as $Bρ$-defined IMS, is established at the experimental cooler-storage ring CSRe in Lanzhou. Its potential has been studied through high precision mass measurements of $^{58}$Ni projectile fragments. Two time-of-flight detectors were installed in one of the straight sections of CSRe, thus enabling simultaneous measurements of the velocity and the revolution time of each stored short-lived ion. This allows for calculating the magnetic rigidity $Bρ$ and the orbit length $C$ of each ion. The accurate $Bρ(C)$ function has been constructed, which is a u…
Atomic nuclei have a shell structure where nuclei with 'magic numbers' of neutrons and protons are analogous to the noble gases in atomic physics. Only ten nuclei with the standard magic numbers of both neutrons and protons have so far been observed. The nuclear shell model is founded on the precept that neutrons and protons can move as independent particles in orbitals with discrete quantum numbers, subject to a mean field generated by all the other nucleons. Knowledge of the properties of single-particle states outside nuclear shell closures in exotic nuclei is important for a fundamental un…
Isochronous mass spectrometry (IMS) in storage rings is a successful technique for accurate mass measurements of short-lived nuclides with relative precision of about $10^{-5}-10^{-7}$. Instabilities of the magnetic fields in storage rings are one of the major contributions limiting the achievable mass resolving power, which is directly related to the precision of the obtained mass values. A new data analysis method is proposed allowing one to minimise the effect of such instabilities. The masses of the previously measured at the CSRe $^{41}$Ti, $^{43}$V, $^{47}$Mn, $^{49}$Fe, $^{53}$Ni and $^…
Many properties of the atomic nucleus, such as vibrations, rotations and incompressibility, can be interpreted as due to a two component quantum liquid of protons and neutrons. Electron scattering measurements on stable nuclei demonstrate that their central densities are saturated, as for liquid drops. In exotic nuclei near the limits of mass and charge, with large imbalances in their proton and neutron numbers, the possibility of a depleted central density, or a 'bubble' structure, has been discussed in a recurrent manner since the 1970s. Here we report first experimental evidence that points…
Masses adjacent to the classical waiting-point nuclide 130Cd have been measured by using the Penning- trap spectrometer ISOLTRAP at ISOLDE/CERN. We find a significant deviation of over 400 keV from earlier values evaluated by using nuclear beta-decay data. The new measurements show the reduction of the N = 82 shell gap below the doubly magic 132Sn. The nucleosynthesis associated with the ejected wind from type-II supernovae as well as from compact object binary mergers is studied, by using state-of-the-art hydrodynamic simulations. We find a consistent and direct impact of the newly measured m…
Interplay between Nuclear Shell Structure and Pairing around Doubly Magic $^{132}$Sn
TRIUMF；University of British Columbia（不列颠哥伦比亚大学）；University of Manitoba（曼尼托巴大学）；University of Victoria（维多利亚大学）；Justus-Liebig-Universität（吉森大学）；Helmholtz Forschungsakademie Hessen für FAIR (HFHF)（黑森FAIR赫尔姆霍茨研究学院）；University of Western Ontario（韦仕敦大学）
In this letter, we report a new mass for $^{11}$Li using the trapping experiment TITAN at TRIUMF's ISAC facility. This is by far the shortest-lived nuclide, $t_{1/2} = 8.8 \rm{ms}$, for which a mass measurement has ever been performed with a Penning trap. Combined with our mass measurements of $^{8,9}$Li we derive a new two-neutron separation energy of 369.15(65) keV: a factor of seven more precise than the best previous value. This new value is a critical ingredient for the determination of the halo charge radius from isotope-shift measurements. We also report results from state-of-the-art at…
We present the results of precision mass measurements of neutron-rich cadmium isotopes. These nuclei approach the $N=82$ closed neutron shell and are important to nuclear structure as they lie near doubly-magic $^{132}$Sn on the chart of nuclides. Of particular note is the clear identification of the ground state mass in $^{127}$Cd along with the isomeric state. We show that the ground state identified in a previous mass measurement which dominates the mass value in the Atomic Mass Evaluation is an isomeric state. In addition to $^{127/m}$Cd, we present other cadmium masses measured ($^{125/m}…
Phase-imaging ion-cyclotron-resonance technique has been implemented at the Penning-trap mass spectrometer JYFLTRAP and is routinely employed for mass measurements of stable and short-lived nuclides produced at IGISOL facility. Systematic uncertainties that impose limitations on the accuracy of measurements are discussed. It was found out that the phase evolution of the radial motion of ions in a Penning trap during the application of radio-frequency fields leads to a systematic cyclotron frequency shift when more than one ion species is present in the trap during the cyclotron frequency measu…
Accurate mass determination of short-lived nuclides by Penning-trap spectrometers and progress in the spectroscopy of proton-rich nuclei have triggered renewed interest in the isobaric multiplet mass equation (IMME). The energy levels of the members of $T=1/2, 1, 3/2,$ and 2 multiplets and the coefficients of the IMME are tabulated for $A\le 71$. The new compilation is based on the most recent mass evaluation (AME2011) and it includes the experimental results on energies of the states evaluated up to end of 2011. Taking into account the error bars, a significant deviation from the quadratic fo…
In order to understand the r-process nucleosynthesis, we suggest precision required for mass and beta-decay half-life measurements planned at future RI-beam facilities. To satisfy a simple requirement that we put on nuclear model predictions, it is concluded that the detectors for the mass measurements must have a precision of 1sigma ~< 250 keV, and that the detectors for the half-life measurements demand a precision of 1sigma ~< 0.15 ms. Both the above precisions are required at the neutron richness of A/Z = 3.0 at the N=82 shell closure and A/Z = 2.9 at the N=50 shell closure. For the doubly…
Nuclear properties across the chart of nuclides are key to improving and validating our understanding of the strong interaction in nuclear physics. We present high-precision mass measurements of neutron-rich Fe isotopes performed at the TITAN facility. The multiple-reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometer (MR-ToF-MS), achieving a resolving power greater than $600\,000$ for the first time, enabled the measurement of $^{63-70}$Fe, including first-time high-precision direct measurements ($δm/m \sim 10^{-7}$) of $^{68-70}$Fe, as well as the discovery of a long-lived isomeric state in $^{69}$Fe.…
