The reaction mechanisms best suited for the production of neutron-rich nuclei, fragmentation and fission, are discussed. Measurements of the production cross sections of reaction residues together with model calculations allow to conclude about the expected production rates of neutron-rich isotopes in future facilities.
Production cross sections for neutron-rich nuclei from the fragmentation of a 82Se beam at 139 MeV/u were measured. The longitudinal momentum distributions of 122 neutron-rich isotopes of elements $11 le Z le 32$ were determined by varying the target thickness. Production cross sections with beryllium and tungsten targets were determined for a large number of nuclei including several isotopes first observed in this work. These are the most neutron-rich nuclides of the elements $22 le Z le 25$ (64Ti, 67V, 69Cr, 72Mn). One event was registered consistent with 70Cr, and another one with 75Fe. A one-body Qg systematics is used to describe the production cross sections based on thermal evaporation from excited prefragments. The current results confirm those of our previous experiment with a 76Ge beam: enhanced production cross sections for neutron-rich fragments near Z=20.
Low-lying excited states of the neutron-rich calcium isotopes $^{48-52}$Ca have been studied via $gamma$-ray spectroscopy following inverse-kinematics proton scattering on a liquid hydrogen target using the GRETINA $gamma$-ray tracking array. The energies and strengths of the octupole states in these isotopes are remarkably constant, indicating that these states are dominated by proton excitations.
The Modular Neutron Array (MoNA) was used in conjunction with a large-gap dipole magnet (Sweeper) to measure neutron-unbound states in oxygen isotopes close to the neutron dripline. While no excited states were observed in 24O, a resonance at 45(2) keV above the neutron separation energy was observed in 23O.
We report on the mass measurements of several neutron-rich $mathrm{Rb}$ and $mathrm{Sr}$ isotopes in the $A approx 100$ region with the TITAN Penning-trap mass spectrometer. Using highly charged ions in the charge state $q=10+$, the masses of $^{98,99}mathrm{Rb}$ and $^{98-100}mathrm{Sr}$ have been determined with a precision of $6 - 12 mathrm{keV}$, making their uncertainty negligible for r-process nucleosynthesis network calculations. The mass of $^{101}mathrm{Sr}$ has been determined directly for the first time with a precision eight times higher than the previous indirect measurement and a deviation of $3sigma$ when compared to the Atomic Mass Evaluation. We also confirm the mass of $^{100}mathrm{Rb}$ from a previous measurement. Furthermore, our data indicates the existance of a low-lying isomer with $80 mathrm{keV}$ excitation energy in $^{98}mathrm{Rb}$. We show that our updated mass values lead to minor changes in the r-process by calculating fractional abundances in the $Aapprox 100$ region of the nuclear chart.
We report mass measurements of neutron-rich Ga isotopes $^{80-85}$Ga with TRIUMFs Ion Trap for Atomic and Nuclear science (TITAN). The measurements determine the masses of $^{80-83}$Ga in good agreement with previous measurements. The masses of $^{84}$Ga and $^{85}$Ga were measured for the first time. Uncertainties between $25-48$ keV were reached. The new mass values reduce the nuclear uncertainties associated with the production of A $approx$ 84 isotopes by the emph{r}-process for astrophysical conditions that might be consistent with a binary neutron star (BNS) merger producing a blue kilonova. Our nucleosynthesis simulations confirm that BNS merger may contribute to the first abundance peak under moderate neutron-rich conditions with electron fractions $Y_e=0.35-0.38$.