No Arabic abstract
The Penning trap mass spectrometer JYFLTRAP, coupled to the Ion-Guide Isotope Separator On-Line (IGISOL) facility at Jyvaskyla, was employed to measure the atomic masses of neutron rich 85 to 92Br and 94 to 97Rb isotopes with a typical accuracy less than 10 keV. 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.
About half of the heavy elements in the Solar System were created by rapid neutron capture, or r-process, nucleosynthesis. In the r-process, heavy elements are built up via a sequence of neutron captures and beta decays in which an intense neutron flux pushes material out towards the neutron drip line. The nuclear network simulations used to test potential astrophysical scenarios for the r-process therefore require nuclear physics data (masses, beta decay lifetimes, neutron capture rates, fission probabilities) for thousands of nuclei far from stability. Only a small fraction of this data has been experimentally measured. Here we discuss recent sensitivity studies that aim to determine the nuclei whose properties are most crucial for r-process calculations.
We propose to produce neutron-rich nuclei in the range of the astrophysical r-process around the waiting point N=126 by fissioning a dense laser-accelerated thorium ion bunch in a thorium target (covered by a CH2 layer), where the light fission fragments of the beam fuse with the light fission fragments of the target. Via the hole-boring mode of laser Radiation Pressure Acceleration using a high-intensity, short pulse laser, very efficiently bunches of 232Th with solid-state density can be generated from a Th layer, placed beneath a deuterated polyethylene foil, both forming the production target. Th ions laser-accelerated to about 7 MeV/u will pass through a thin CH2 layer placed in front of a thicker second Th foil closely behind the production target and disintegrate into light and heavy fission fragments. In addition, light ions (d,C) from the CD2 production target will be accelerated as well to about 7 MeV/u, inducing the fission process of 232Th also in the second Th layer. The laser-accelerated ion bunches with solid-state density, which are about 10^14 times more dense than classically accelerated ion bunches, allow for a high probability that generated fission products can fuse again. In contrast to classical radioactive beam facilities, where intense but low-density radioactive beams are merged with stable targets, the novel fission-fusion process draws on the fusion between neutron-rich, short-lived, light fission fragments both from beam and target. The high ion beam density may lead to a strong collective modification of the stopping power in the target, leading to significant range enhancement. Using a high-intensity laser as envisaged for the ELI-Nuclear Physics project in Bucharest (ELI-NP), estimates promise a fusion yield of about 10^3 ions per laser pulse in the mass range of A=180-190, thus enabling to approach the r-process waiting point at N=126.
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 $Y_e=0.35-0.38$.
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.
Medium-spin excited states of the neutron-rich nucleus $^{87}$Br were observed and studied for the first time. They were populated in fission of $^{235}$U induced by the cold-neutron beam of the PF1B facility of the Institut Laue-Langevin, Grenoble. The measurement of $gamma$ radiation following fission has been performed using the EXILL array of Ge detectors. The observed level scheme was compared with results of large valence space shell model calculations. The medium-spin level scheme consists of three band-like structures, which can be understood as bands built on the ${pi}f_{5/2}$, ${pi}(p_{3/2}+f_{5/2})$ and ${pi}g_{9/2}$ configurations. The behavior of the observed ${pi}g_{9/2}$ band at high spins shows a considerable deviation from the shell model predictions. This deviation in this band is probably the result of an increased collectivity, which can be understood assuming that the ${pi}g_{9/2}$ high-$it j$ proton polarizes the core.