M. Dworschak

Direct mass measurements above uranium bridge the gap to the island of stability

The mass of an atom incorporates all its constituents and their interactions. The difference between the mass of an atom and the sum of its building blocks (the binding energy) is a manifestation of Einstein’s famous relation E = mc2. The binding energy determines the energy available for nuclear reactions and decays (and thus the creation of elements by stellar nucleosynthesis), and holds the key to the fundamental question of how heavy the elements can be. Superheavy elements have been observed in challenging production experiments, but our present knowledge of the binding energy of these nuclides is based only on the detection of their decay products. The reconstruction from extended decay chains introduces uncertainties that render the interpretation difficult. Here we report direct mass measurements of trans-uranium nuclides. Located at the farthest tip of the actinide species on the proton number–neutron number diagram, these nuclides represent the gateway to the predicted island of stability. In particular, we have determined the mass values of 252-254No (atomic number 102) with the Penning trap mass spectrometer SHIPTRAP. The uncertainties are of the order of 10 keV/c2 (representing a relative precision of 0.05 p.p.m.), despite minute production rates of less than one atom per second. Our experiments advance direct mass measurements by ten atomic numbers with no loss in accuracy, and provide reliable anchor points en route to the island of stability.

Direct Mapping of Nuclear Shell Effects in the Heaviest Elements

Pinning Down Nuclear Shells The nuclei of heavy atoms are destabilized by proton repulsions, and, conversely, the quantum-mechanical shell effects help to stabilize them. There are theoretical models for predicting the masses of yet-to-be-discovered superheavy elements, based on such shell effects, and these models can be tested by studying the shells of known actinide nuclei. The problem is that current mass values determined from studying radioactive decay products have substantial errors. Minaya Ramirez et al. (p. 1207, published online 9 August; see the Perspective by Bollen) were able to collect a sufficient number of nuclei of lawrencium and nobelium isotopes in an ion trap to determine their masses directly by mass spectroscopy. These results will be helpful in predicting the heaviest possible element. Highly precise mass measurements of nobelium and lawrencium isotopes provide insight into superheavy element stability. Quantum-mechanical shell effects are expected to strongly enhance nuclear binding on an “island of stability” of superheavy elements. The predicted center at proton number Z = 114, 120, or 126 and neutron number N = 184 has been substantiated by the recent synthesis of new elements up to Z = 118. However, the location of the center and the extension of the island of stability remain vague. High-precision mass spectrometry allows the direct measurement of nuclear binding energies and thus the determination of the strength of shell effects. Here, we present such measurements for nobelium and lawrencium isotopes, which also pin down the deformed shell gap at N = 152.

Mass measurements in the vicinity of the r p-process and the nu p-process paths with the Penning trap facilities JYFLTRAP and SHIPTRAP

The masses of very neutron-deficient nuclides close to the astrophysical r p- and {nu} p-process paths have been determined with the Penning trap facilities JYFLTRAP at JYFL/Jyvaeskylae and SHIPTRAP at GSI/Darmstadt. Isotopes from yttrium (Z=39) to palladium (Z=46) have been produced in heavy-ion fusion-evaporation reactions. In total, 21 nuclides were studied, and almost half of the mass values were experimentally determined for the first time: {sup 88}Tc, {sup 90-92}Ru, {sup 92-94}Rh, and {sup 94,95}Pd. For the {sup 95}Pd{sup m}, (21/2{sup +}) high-spin state, a first direct mass determination was performed. Relative mass uncertainties of typically {delta}m/m=5x10{sup -8} were obtained. The impact of the new mass values has been studied in {nu} p-process nucleosynthesis calculations. The resulting reaction flow and the final abundances are compared with those obtained with the data of the Atomic Mass Evaluation 2003.

Mass measurements beyond the major r-process waiting point 80Zn

High-precision mass measurements on neutron-rich zinc isotopes (71m,72-81)Zn have been performed with the Penning trap mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP. For the first time, the mass of 81Zn has been experimentally determined. This makes 80Zn the first of the few major waiting points along the path of the astrophysical rapid neutron-capture process where neutron-separation energy and neutron-capture Q-value are determined experimentally. The astrophysical conditions required for this waiting point and its associated abundance signatures to occur in r-process models can now be mapped precisely. The measurements also confirm the robustness of the N=50 shell closure for Z=30.

Towards a magnetic field stabilization at ISOLTRAP for high-accuracy mass measurements on exotic nuclides

Abstract The field stability of a mass spectrometer plays a crucial role in the accuracy of mass measurements. In the case of mass determination of short-lived nuclides with a Penning trap, major causes of fluctuations are temperature variations in the vicinity of the trap and pressure changes in the liquid helium cryostat of the superconducting magnet. Thus systems for the temperature and pressure stabilization of the Penning trap mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP at the ISOLDE facility at CERN have been installed. A reduction of the temperature and pressure fluctuations by at least an order of magnitude down to Δ T ≈ ± 5 mK and Δ p ≈ ± 5 Pa has been achieved, which corresponds to a relative magnetic field change of Δ B / B = 2.7 × 10 - 9 and 1.1 × 10 - 10 , respectively.

Position-sensitive ion detection in precision Penning trap mass spectrometry

A commercial, position-sensitive ion detector was used for the first time for the time-of-flight ion-cyclotron resonance detection technique in Penning trap mass spectrometry. In this work, the characteristics of the detector and its implementation in a Penning trap mass spectrometer will be presented. In addition, simulations and experimental studies concerning the observation of ions ejected from a Penning trap are described. This will allow for a precise monitoring of the state of ion motion in the trap.

Precise mass measurements of exotic nuclei—the SHIPTRAP Penning trap mass spectrometer

The SHIPTRAP Penning trap mass spectrometer has been designed and constructed to measure the mass of short‐lived, radioactive nuclei. The radioactive nuclei are produced in fusion‐evaporation reactions and separated in flight with the velocity filter SHIP at GSI in Darmstadt. They are captured in a gas cell and transfered to a double Penning trap mass spectrometer. There, the cyclotron frequencies of the radioactive ions are determined and yield mass values with uncertainties ⩾4.5⋅10−8. More than 50 nuclei have been investigated so far with the present overall efficiency of about 0.5 to 2%.

High-precision mass measurements for reliable nuclear astrophysics calculations

A. Herlert ∗a, S. Baruah b, K. Blaum cd, M. Breitenfeldt b, P. Delahaye a, M. Dworschak d, S. George cd, C. Guénaut e†, U. Hager f , F. Herfurth d, A. Kellerbauer ab‡, H.-J. Kluge dg, D. Lunney e, R. Savreux d, S. Schwarz h, L. Schweikhard b and C. Yazidjian d aPhysics Department, CERN, 1211 Geneva 23, Switzerland bInstitut für Physik, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität, 17487 Greifswald, Germany cInstitut für Physik, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, 55099 Mainz, Germany dGSI, Planckstr. 1, 64291 Darmstadt, Germany eCSNSM-IN2P3-CNRS, 91405 Orsay-Campus, France f Department of Physics, University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35 (YFL), 40014 Jyväskylä, Finland gFakultät für Physik und Astronomie, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany hNSCL, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI-48824-1321, USA