Development of fast-response PPAC with strip-readout for heavy-ion beams

A strip-readout parallel-plate avalanche counter (SR-PPAC) has been developed aiming at the high detection efficiency and good position resolution in high-intensity heavy-ion measurements. The performance was evaluated using 115 MeV/u $^{132}$Xe, 300 MeV/u $^{132}$Sn, and 300 MeV/u $^{48}$Ca beams. A detection efficiency beyond 99% for these beams is achieved even at an incident beam intensity of 0.7 billion particles per second. The best position resolution achieved is 235 um (FWHM).Comment: 16 pages, 18 figures, 2 table

The new MRTOF mass spectrograph following the ZeroDegree spectrometer at RIKEN's RIBF facility

A newly assembled multi-reflection time-of-flight mass spectrograph (MRTOF-MS) at RIKEN's RIBF facility became operational for the first time in spring 2020; further modifications and performance tests using stable ions were completed in early 2021. By using a pulsed-drift-tube technique to modify the ions' kinetic energy in a wide range, we directly characterize the dispersion function of the system for use in a new procedure for optimizing the voltages applied to the electrostatic mirrors. Thus far, a mass resolving power of $R_m > 1\,000\,000$ is reached within a total time-of-flight of only $12.5\,\mathrm{ms}$, making the spectrometer capable of studying short-lived nuclei possessing low-lying isomers. Detailed information about the setup and measurement procedure is reported, and an alternative in-MRTOF ion selection scheme to remove molecular contaminants in the absence of a dedicated deflection device is introduced. The setup underwent an initial on-line commissioning at the BigRIPS facility at the end of 2020, where more than 70 nuclear masses have been measured. A summary of the commissioning experiments and results from a test of mass accuracy will be presented.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figure

A new study of the N=32N=32 and N=34N=34 shell gap for Ti and V by the first high-precision MRTOF mass measurements at BigRIPS-SLOWRI

The atomic masses of $^{55}$Sc, $^{56,58}$Ti, and $^{56-59}$V have been determined using the high-precision multi-reflection time-of-flight technique. The radioisotopes have been produced at RIKEN's RIBF facility and delivered to the novel designed gas cell and multi-reflection system (ZD MRTOF), which has been recently commissioned downstream of the ZeroDegree spectrometer following the BigRIPS separator. For $^{56,58}$Ti and $^{56-59}$V the mass uncertainties have been reduced down to the order of $10\,\mathrm{keV}$, shedding new light on the $N=34$ shell effect in Ti and V isotopes by the first high-precision mass measurements of the critical species $^{58}$Ti and $^{59}$V. With the new precision achieved, we reveal the non-existence of the $N=34$ empirical two-neutron shell gaps for Ti and V, and the enhanced energy gap above the occupied $\nu p_{3/2}$ orbit is identified as a feature unique to Ca. We perform new Monte Carlo shell model calculations including the $\nu d_{5/2}$ and $\nu g_{9/2}$ orbits and compare the results with conventional shell model calculations, which exclude the $\nu g_{9/2}$ and the $\nu d_{5/2}$ orbits. The comparison indicates that the shell gap reduction in Ti is related to a partial occupation of the higher orbitals for the outer two valence neutrons at $N=34$

Performance of prototype Dual Gain Multilayer Thick GEM with high-intensity heavy-ion beam injections in low-pressure hydrogen gas

A prototype Dual Gain Multilayer Thick Gas Electron Multilyer (DG-M-THGEM) with an active area of 10 cm $\times$ 10 cm was manufactured aiming at the production of a large-volume active-target time projection chamber which can work under the condition of high-intensity heavy-ion beam injections. The DG-M-THGEM has a alternating structure of electrodes and insulators. Effective gas gains of two regions, which are called beam and recoil regions, are separately controlled. Performance of the prototype DG-M-THGEM in hydrogen gas at a pressure of 40 kPa was evaluated. Irradiating a $^{132}$Xe beam, an effective gas gain lower than 100 with a charge resolution of 3% was achieved in the beam region while the effective gas gain of 2000 was maintained in the recoil region. Position distributions of measured charges along the beam axis were investigated in order to evaluate gain uniformity in the high intensity beam injection. The gain shift was estimated by simulations considering space charges in the drift region. The gain shift was suppressed within 3% even at the beam intensity of 2.5 $\times$ 10$^{6}$ particles per second.Comment: 19 pages, 14 figures, 3 table

Mass measurements of neutron-rich <math><mrow><mi>A</mi><mo>≈</mo><mn>90</mn></mrow></math> nuclei constrain element abundances

International audienceAtomic masses of the neutron-rich isotopes Ga83,84, Ge82–86, As82–89, Se82,84–91, Br85,86,89–92, Kr89,91,92, and Rb91 have been measured with high precision and accuracy using the multi-reflection time-of-flight mass spectrograph at the RIBF facility. The masses of As88,89 were measured for the first time and the mass uncertainties of Ge86 and Se90,91 were significantly reduced from several hundred keV to below the 10 keV scale. Investigation of shell evolution and potential subshell closures are proceeded by analysis of two-neutron separation energy systematics. As a result of the precise mass measurements, no prominent change on the slope of the two-neutron separation energy beyond N=56 is observed in Se isotopes, indicating the subshell closure effect at N=56 of Se does not exist. Also, various leading mass models are compared with the measurements. The impact of the more precisely known data on r-process nucleosynthesis calculations is investigated in light of these new mass measurements, showing a remarkable reduction of reaction-rate uncertainties

First direct mass measurement for neutron-rich <math><mmultiscripts><mi>Mo</mi><mprescripts/><none/><mn>112</mn></mmultiscripts></math> with the new ZD-MRTOF mass spectrograph system

International audienceThe atomic masses of Ag111,113, Pd111–113, Rh111–113, Ru111–113, and Mo111,112 have been measured during the online commissioning experiments of the ZeroDegree multi-reflection time-of-flight Mass Spectrograph (ZD MRTOF-MS) at the RIKEN RI beam factory. The mass of Mo112 has been determined. For the previously known masses, a good agreement between our results and the 2020 Atomic Mass Evaluation has been observed in most cases. The determined two-neutron separation energies for Mo isotopes up to N=70 show a smooth trend. In this work, the performed experiment and analysis procedure are presented. The theoretical interest in the measured region is highlighted, and the results are discussed in terms of the various mass surface formulas including the new mass data. Furthermore, a comparison between our results and global theoretical mass models is given, and we provide a benchmark for results from a Bayesian machine learning algorithm for future mass extrapolation