C. Y. Fu

Identification of the Lowest T =2, Jπ =0+ Isobaric Analog State in 52Co and Its Impact on the Understanding of β-Decay Properties of52Ni

Masses of ^{52g,52m}Co were measured for the first time with an accuracy of ∼10  keV, an unprecedented precision reached for short-lived nuclei in the isochronous mass spectrometry. Combining our results with the previous β-γ measurements of ^{52}Ni, the T=2, J^{π}=0^{+} isobaric analog state (IAS) in ^{52}Co was newly assigned, questioning the conventional identification of IASs from the β-delayed proton emissions. Using our energy of the IAS in ^{52}Co, the masses of the T=2 multiplet fit well into the isobaric multiplet mass equation. We find that the IAS in ^{52}Co decays predominantly via γ transitions while the proton emission is negligibly small. According to our large-scale shell model calculations, this phenomenon has been interpreted to be due to very low isospin mixing in the IAS.

A data analysis method for isochronous mass spectrometry using two time-of-flight detectors at CSRe

The concept of isochronous mass spectrometry (IMS) applying two time-of-flight (TOF) detectors originated many years ago at GSI. However, the corresponding method for data analysis has never been discussed in detail. Recently, two TOF detectors have been installed at CSRe and the new working mode of the ring is under test. In this paper, a data analysis method for this mode is introduced and tested with a series of simulations. The results show that the new IMS method can significantly improve mass resolving power via the additional velocity information of stored ions. This improvement is especially important for nuclides with Lorentz factor γ-value far away from the transition point γt of the storage ring CSRe.

Direct mass measurements of neutron-rich 86Kr projectile fragments and the persistence of neutron magic number N=32 in Sc isotopes

In this paper, we present direct mass measurements of neutron-rich 86Kr projectile fragments conducted at the HIRFL-CSR facility in Lanzhou by employing the Isochronous Mass Spectrometry (IMS) method. The new mass excesses of 52–54Sc 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, 53Sc and 54Sc are more bound by 0.8 MeV and 1.0 MeV, respectively. The behavior of the two neutron separation energy with neutron numbers indicates a strong sub-shell closure at neutron number N=32 in Sc isotopes.

An improvement of isochronous mass spectrometry: Velocity measurements using two time-of-flight detectors

Abstract Isochronous mass spectrometry (IMS) in storage rings is a powerful tool for mass measurements of exotic nuclei with very short half-lives down to several tens of microseconds, using a multicomponent secondary beam separated in-flight without cooling. However, the inevitable momentum spread of secondary ions limits the precision of nuclear masses determined by using IMS. Therefore, the momentum measurement in addition to the revolution period of stored ions is crucial to reduce the influence of the momentum spread on the standard deviation of the revolution period, which would lead to a much improved mass resolving power of IMS. One of the proposals to upgrade IMS is that the velocity of secondary ions could be directly measured by using two time-of-flight (double TOF) detectors installed in a straight section of a storage ring. In this paper, we outline the principle of IMS with double TOF detectors and the method to correct the momentum spread of stored ions.

First isochronous mass measurements with two time-of-flight detectors at CSRe

Isochronous mass spectrometry (IMS) established in heavy-ion storage rings has proven to be a powerful tool for mass measurements of short-lived nuclides. In IMS, the revolution times of stored ions should be independent of their velocity spread. However, this isochronous condition is fulfilled only in the first order and in a small range of revolution times. To correct for non-isochronicity, an additional measure of the velocity or magnetic rigidity of each stored ion is required. For this purpose two new time-of-flight (TOF) detectors were installed in one of the straight sections of the experimental cooler storage ring in Lanzhou. It is expected that the resolving power of the IMS will significantly be improved with such a double-TOF arrangement. The double-TOF system was tested in a recent experiment with the Kr-78 fragments. Some of the experimental results are presented in this contribution.

Simulations of the isochronous mass spectrometry at the HIRFL-CSR

A Monte-Carlo simulation code, named as SimCSR, has been developed for the isochronous mass spectrometry experiments in the experimental storage ring (CSRe). The revolution times of the fragments ions stored in the CSRe, which were produced in the fragmentation of Ni-58 primary beam are reproduced very well by the SimCSR, although only linear components are considered. The standard deviation of the revolution time is found to be strongly affected by the phase slip factor, the width of the relative momentum difference and the instability of magnetic field. Based on the simulations, we outline and discuss the methods to reduce the standard deviation of the revolution time.

First application of combined isochronous and Schottky mass spectrometry: Half-lives of fully-ionized49Cr24+ and 53Fe26+ atoms

Lifetime measurements of β-decaying highly charged ions have been performed in the experimental storage ring (CSRe) by applying the isochronous Schottky mass spectrometry. The fully ionized Cr49 and Fe53 ions were produced in projectile fragmentation of Ni58 primary beam and were stored in the CSRe tuned into the isochronous ion-optical mode. The new resonant Schottky detector was applied to monitor the intensities of stored uncooled Cr24+49 and Fe26+53 ions. The extracted half-lives T1/2(Cr24+49)=44.0(27) min and T1/2(Fe26+53)=8.47(19) min are in excellent agreement with the literature half-life values corrected for the disabled electron capture branchings. This is an important proof-of-principle step towards realizing the simultaneous mass and lifetime measurements on exotic nuclei at the future storage ring facilities.

A method to measure the transition energy γ t of the isochronously tuned storage ring

Abstract The Isochronous Mass Spectrometry (IMS) is a powerful technique developed in heavy-ion storage rings for measuring masses of very short-lived exotic nuclei. The IMS is based on the isochronous setting of the ring. One of the main parameters of this setting is the transition energy γ t . It has been a challenge to determine the γ t and especially to monitor the variation of γ t during experiments. In this paper we introduce a method to measure the γ t online during IMS experiments by using the acquired experimental data. Furthermore, since the storage ring has (in our context) a relatively large momentum acceptance, the variation of the γ t across the ring acceptance is a source of systematic uncertainty of measured masses. With the installation of two time-of-flight (TOF) detectors, the velocity of each stored ion and its revolution time are simultaneously available for the analysis. These quantities enabled us to determine the γ t as a function of orbital length in the ring. The presented method is especially important for future IMS experiments planned at the new-generation storage ring facilities FAIR in Germany and HIAF in China.

Mass measurements of neutron-deficient Y, Zr, and Nb isotopes and their impact on rp and νp nucleosynthesis processes

Abstract Using isochronous mass spectrometry at the experimental storage ring CSRe in Lanzhou, the masses of 82Zr and 84Nb were measured for the first time with an uncertainty of ∼10 keV, and the masses of 79Y, 81Zr, and 83Nb were re-determined with a higher precision. The latter are significantly less bound than their literature values. Our new and accurate masses remove the irregularities of the mass surface in this region of the nuclear chart. Our results do not support the predicted island of pronounced low α separation energies for neutron-deficient Mo and Tc isotopes, making the formation of Zr–Nb cycle in the rp-process unlikely. The new proton separation energy of 83Nb was determined to be 490(400) keV smaller than that in the Atomic Mass Evaluation 2012. This partly removes the overproduction of the p-nucleus 84Sr relative to the neutron-deficient molybdenum isotopes in the previous νp-process simulations.

Masses of the Tz = −3/2 nuclei 27P and 29S

Isochronous mass spectrometry has been applied in the storage ring CSRe to measure the masses of the