Eur. Phys. J. A (2009) 42: 323-326
https://doi.org/10.1140/epja/i2009-10808-4

Regular Article - Experimental Physics

Precision Penning trap mass measurements of rare isotopes produced by projectile fragmentation

¹ National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, Michigan State University, 48824, East Lansing, MI, USA
² GSI, Planckstrasse 1, 64291, Darmstadt, Germany
³ Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University, 48824, East Lansing, MI, USA
⁴ Department of Chemistry, Michigan State University, 48824, East Lansing, MI, USA
⁵ TRIUMF, 4004 Wesbrook Mall, V6T 2A3, Vancouver, BC, Canada
⁶ Atomic Physics Laboratory, RIKEN, 2-1 Hirosawa, 351-0198, Wako, Saitama, Japan

^* e-mail: schwarz@nscl.msu.edu

Received: 31 December 2008
Revised: 21 March 2009
Accepted: 9 April 2009
Published online: 30 May 2009

Abstract

The low-energy beam and ion trap facility LEBIT at NSCL/MSU is at present the only facility where precision experiments are performed with stopped rare isotope beams produced by fast-beam fragmentation. LEBIT combines high-pressure-gas stopping with advanced ion manipulation techniques to provide brilliant low-energy beams. So far these beams have mainly been used for mass measurements on short-lived rare isotopes with a 9.4T Penning trap mass spectrometer. Recent examples include ^70m Br , located at the proton dripline, ³²Si and the iron isotopes ^63-65Fe . While the measurement of ³²Si helps to solve a long-standing dispute over the validity of the isobaric multiplet mass equation (IMME) for the A = 32 , T = 2 multiplet, the mass measurements of ^65m,g Fe marked the first time a nuclear isomeric state has been discovered by Penning trap mass spectrometry.