Search

A heavy-ion detector was developed for decay studies in the Experimental Storage Ring (ESR) at the GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research in Darmstadt, Germany. This detector serves as a prototype for the in-pocket particle detectors for future experiments with the Collector Ring (CR) at FAIR (Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research). The detector includes a stack of six silicon pad sensors, a double-sided silicon strip detector (DSSD), and a CsI(Tl) scintillation detector. It was used successfully in a recent experiment for the detection of the β+-decay of highly charged 142Pm60+ ions. Based on the Δ E / E technique for particle identification and an energy resolution of 0.9% for Δ E and 0.5% for E (Full Width at Half Maximum (FWHM)), the detector is well-suited to distinguish neighbouring isobars in the region of interest.

The exploration of the unique properties of stored and cooled beams of highly-charged ions as provided by heavy-ion storage rings has opened novel and fascinating research opportunities in the realm of atomic and nuclear physics research. Since the late 1980s, pioneering work has been performed at the CRYRING at Stockholm (Abrahamsson et al. 1993) and at the Test Storage Ring (TSR) at Heidelberg (Baumann et al. 1988). For the heaviest ions in the highest charge-states, a real quantum jump was achieved in the early 1990s by the commissioning of the Experimental Storage Ring (ESR) at GSI Helmholtzzentrum fur Schwerionenforschung (GSI) in Darmstadt (Franzke 1987) where challenging experiments on the electron dynamics in the strong field regime as well as nuclear physics studies on exotic nuclei and at the borderline to atomic physics were performed. Meanwhile also at Lanzhou a heavy-ion storage ring has been taken in operation, exploiting the unique research opportunities in particular for medium-heavy ions and exotic nuclei (Xia et al. 2002).

Masses of uranium fission fragments have been measured with the FRagment Separator (FRS) combined with the Experimental Storage Ring (ESR) at GSI. A 410-415 MeV/u 238U projectile beam was fast extracted from the synchrotron SIS-18 with an average intensity of 109/spill. The projectiles were focused on a 1g/cm2 beryllium target at the entrance of the FRS to create neutron-rich isotopes via abrasion-fission. The fission fragments were spatially separated with the FRS and injected into the isochronous storage ring ESR for fast mass measurements without applying cooling. The Isochronous Mass Spectrometry (IMS) was performed under two different experimental conditions, with and without B $\rho$ -tagging at the high-resolution dispersive central focal plane of the FRS. The evaluation has been done for the combined data sets from both experiments with a new method of data analysis. The use of a correlation matrix has provided experimental mass values for 23 different neutron-rich isotopes for the first time and 6 masses with improved values. The new masses were obtained for nuclides in the element range from Se to Ce. The applied analysis has given access even to rare isotopes detected with an intensity of a few atoms per week. The novel data analysis and systematic error determination are described and the results are compared with extrapolations of experimental values and theoretical models.

Masses of 238U projectile fragments have been measured with time-resolved Schottky Mass Spectrometry (SMS) at the FRS-ESR facility at GSI. The exotic nuclei were created in the production target at the entrance of the fragment separator FRS, spatially separated in flight and injected into the storage-cooler ring ESR at about 70% light velocity. This means the ions were mainly bare or carried only a few electrons, e.g., the population of Li-like ions was below 1% for Pt fragments. Accurate newmass values of 33 neutron-rich, stored exotic nuclei in the element range from platinum to uranium have been obtained for the first time. In total more than 150 nuclides including references with well-known masses have been covered in this large-area SMS measurement. A novel data analysis has been applied which reduces the systematic errors by taking into account the velocity profile of the cooler electrons and the residual ion-optical dispersion in this part of the storage ring. The experiment, the data analysis, and the mass values are presented. The experimental data are compared with theoretical predictions demonstrating systematic deviations of up to 1500 keV from modern mass models.

238U projectile fragments have been created at the entrance of the fragment separator FRS, spatially separated in flight within 0.45 μs and injected into the storage-cooler ring ESR at 7.9 Tm corresponding to about 70% light velocity. Accurate new mass values and lifetime information of the stored exotic nuclei in the element range from platinum to uranium have been obtained with single-particle Schottky spectrometry. In this experiment the new isotopes of 236Ac, 224At, 221Po, 222Po, and 213Tl were discovered. The isotopes were unambiguously identified and their masses measured. In addition, the time-correlated data have provided information on the lifetime of the new nuclides. The discovery of isotopes along with accurate mass measurement has been achieved for the first time at the FRS-ESR facility. The results will contribute to the knowledge of the decay products from the r-process nuclei and enable a crucial test of the predictive power of modern nuclear mass and half-life models.

Precise mass measurements of short-lived exotic nuclei are very important for the understanding of basic nuclear structure physics and astrophysical nucleosynthesis in nature, as well as for the test and the development of theoretical nuclear mass models. At GSI, the Isochronous Mass Spectrometry (IMS) dedicated to mass measurements of short-lived nuclides was developed. In this contribution, the IMS technique is briefly reviewed. Recently, the first large-scale measurement on the 238 U fission fragment was done successfully. The measured mass values are in excellent agreement with the recent Penning trap data, however, they show a systematical deviation from the values in the latest atomic mass evaluation. Some representative results from this experiment will be presented, including their impact on nuclear structure physics and astrophysical r-process nucleosynthesis.

Storage rings as the ESR and the future NESR in the FAIR project are unique tools to study the dynamics of electron-ion and ion-atom collisions in the realm of strong perturbations and short interaction times. A telling sign of the character of such collisions are the electrons emitted into the continuum. For high Z projectiles and low Z targets the projectile centred continuum is dominating. Precision studies of these electrons emitted in relativistic collisions thus are of paramount importance for an understanding of the ionization mechanisms active in transferring electrons into the continua. Forward electron spectroscopy thus appears to be the tool of choice. For high precision studies in collision spectroscopy of high Z projectiles we have implemented an imaging forward electron spectrometer into the ESR supersonic jet target zone. In combination with a reaction microscope to be implemented next this enables investigations of several fundamental processes ranging from kinematically complete studies of multiple ionization and (e, 2e) on ions to radiative and non-radiative electron transfer processes to the projectile continuum and for the first time kinematically complete measurements of the short-wavelength limit of the electron nucleus Bremsstrahlung. We report first results.

In this contribution, we present an experimental study carried out at GSI Darmstadt devoted to investigation of quantum electrodynamical (QED) effects for the ground states in hydrogen- and helium-like uranium. In the experiment, X-ray spectra following radiative recombination of free electrons with bare and H-like uranium ions (U92+, U91+) were measured at the electron cooler of the ESR storage ring. Utilizing clean and favorable experimental conditions present at the electron cooler, we were able to obtain very accurate values for the ground-state binding energies from the observed X-ray transitions. When compared with theory, our results provide the most stringent test of bound-state QED for one- and two-electron systems in the strong-field regime.

Relative yields of fragments following the 78Kr projectile fragmentation in a beryllium target were measured in a storage ring by using isochronous mass spectrometry (IMS). Odd–even staggering of the relative fragment yields is observed and can be explained by the odd–even staggering of the particle-emission threshold energies. IMS is a complementary technique to γ-ray spectroscopy for measuring isomeric ratios, in particular for nuclides with long lifetimes. It was found that the isomeric yield ratios in 53Fe are almost constant for different longitudinal momenta.

One important goal of the ILIMA project at FAIR is the study of masses and decay properties of relativistic isomeric beams stored and cooied in the planned storage-ring complex. A new scheme is described, where a storage-cooler ring is used for high-resolution mass separation. Experimental results on the separation of the isobaric pair 140Pr-140Ce are presented.

In this report we show first results on dielectronic recombination (DR) measurements with H-like uranium U 91 + . The experiments were conducted at the heavy ion storage ring ESR of GSI. The electron cooler of the ESR was used as a target for free electrons. Stochastic pre-cooling of the stored ion beam was employed in order to accomplish high-energy resolution at the necessary high electron–ion collision energies of more than 64 keV. For the DR of U 91 + this novel technique enabled us to measure for the first time the KLL-DR process and even to resolve the individual j – j ′ fine structure components of the KL j L j ′ resonances. The experimental data are compared with fully relativistic Multi-Configuration Dirac-Fock (DR-MCDF) calculations.

A review and recent progress are presented from experiments on masses and lifetimes of bare and few-electron exotic nuclei at GSI. Relativistic rare isotopes produced via projectile fragmentation and fission were separated in flight by the fragment separator FRS and injected into the storage ring ESR. This worldwide unique experimental method gives access to all fragments with half-lives down to the microsecond range. The great research potential is demonstrated by the discovery of new isotopes along with simultaneous mass and lifetime measurements. Single particle decay measurements and the continuous recording of both stored mother and daughter nuclei open up a new era for nuclear spectroscopy. The study of bare and few-electron nuclei has also important astrophysical relevance with respect to the hot stellar conditions where reactions and decay are influenced by the degree of atomic ionization. The future international NUSTAR facility at FAIR consisting of a new large-acceptance in-flight separator (Super-FRS) and a dedicated storage ring system (CR–RESR–NESR) will be an ideal tool to study nuclei with new probes and to investigate the majority of relevant r- and rp-process nuclei which are not in reach with the present-day facilities.

With the advanced accelerator technologies used at the SIS/ESR heavy ion facility at GSI, the highest charge states (bare, H-like, etc.) even for the heaviest ions can be provided for experiments at moderate collision velocities (vion

We present a short overview of the current status of the new accelerator project FAIR at GSI with the new double synchrotron rings and the multi-storage rings. The key features of the new facility, which provides intense relativistic beams of stable and unstable nuclei, are introduced and their relation to the anticipated experimental programs in nuclear structure physics and antiproton physics is shown. The main emphasis in this overview is given to the atomic physics program with unique opportunities which will be provided e.g. by bare U 92+ ions with kinetic energies continuously variable between relativistic energies corresponding to γ up to ≅35 down to kinetic energies of such ions in traps corresponding to fractions of a Kelvin.

In the current report a short overview about the envisioned program of the atomic physics research collaboration SPARC (Stored Particle Atomic Research Collaboration, at the new international accelerator Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) at GSI is given. In addition, a condensed description of the planned experimental areas devoted to atomic physics research at the new facility is presented.

Recently, much progress has been made with stored exotic nuclei at relativistic velocities ( v c = 0.7 ) . Fragments of 208Pb and 209Bi projectiles and fission products from 238U ions were produced, separated in flight with the fragment separator FRS, and injected into the storage-cooler ring ESR for precision measurements. 114 new masses of neutron-deficient isotopes in the lead region have been measured with time-resolved Schottky Mass Spectrometry (SMS). A new isospin dependence of the pairing energy was observed due to the improved mass accuracy of typically 1.5×10-7 (30 keV). New masses of short-lived neutron-rich fission fragments have been obtained with Isochronous Mass Spectrometry (IMS). An innovative field of spectroscopy has been opened up with lifetime measurements of stored bare and few-electron fragments after applying both stochastic and electron cooling.

A large area on the mass surface of neutron-deficient nuclides (36≤Z≤85) was measured with time-resolved Schottky mass spectrometry at the FRS-ESR facilities. The masses of 114 nuclides were obtained for the first time from which 43 were determined via known decay energies. The improved mass accuracy of 30 keV allowed to study the isospin dependence of nuclear pairing, to precisely locate the one-proton dripline for odd-Z isotopes from Tb to Pa and to make crucial tests of the predictive powers of modern mass models.

Recent progress in experiments with exotic nuclear beams at the SIS-FRS-ESR facility is summarized. New results on gross properties of exotic nuclei like binding energy, half-lives, and decay modes are presented. A brief outlook to future experiments is given.

A short overview on the results of atomic physics research at the storage ring ESR is given followed by a presentation of the envisioned atomic physics program at the planned new GSI facility. The proposed new GSI facility will provide highest intensities of relativistic beams of both stable and unstable heavy nuclei - up to a Lorentz factor of 24. At those relativistic velocities, the energies of optical transitions, such as for lasers.. are boosted into the X-ray region and the high-charge state ions generate electric and magnetic fields of exceptional strength. Together with high beam intensities a range of important experiments can be anticipated, for example electronic transitions in relativistic heavy-ion collisions such as dynamically induced e(+)e(-) pairs, test of quantum electrodynamics (QED) in strong fields, and ions and electrons in ultra-high intensity femtosecond laser fields. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Atomic charge states can significantly influence nuclear decay rates. Presented is a compact overview of experiments conducted at the Experimental Storage Ring ESR of GSI addressing β-decay of stored and cooled highly charged ions. Investigations of the two-body beta decay, namely the bound-state β-decay and its time-mirrored counterpart, orbital electron-capture, are discussed in more details and a special emphasis is given to the future experiment on the bound-state β-decay of fully-ionized 205Tl81+ nuclei.

The masses of 64 short-lived neutron-deficient nuclides covering the element range from tungsten to uranium have been obtained for the first time. They have been evaluated by combining directly measured masses from Schottky mass spectrometry with linked experimental Q-values in α-decay chains. Based on these new mass data we have determined the one-proton and two-proton drip-lines as well as the size of the “littoral shallow” of the sea of instability. No evidence of a Thomas–Ehrman shift has been found in the region of the investigated heavy nuclides. A peculiar behavior of two-proton separation energies has been observed in the lead region. The predictive power of various mass models is investigated.

27th International Conference on Neutrino Physics and Astrophysics, NEUTRINO2016, London, England, 4 Jul 2016 - 9 Jul 2016; Journal of physics / Conference Series 888, 012192 - (2017). doi:10.1088/1742-6596/888/1/012192, Published by IOP Publ., Bristol

A novel method for mass measurements of short-lived exotic nuclides is presented. Exotic nuclides were produced and separated in flight at relativistic energies with the fragment separator (FRS) and were injected into the experimental storage ring (ESR). Operating the ESR in the isochronous mode we performed mass measurements of neutron deficient fragments of 84Kr with half-lives larger than 50 ms. However, this experimental technique is applicable in a half-life range down to a few μs. A mass resolving power of 110000 (FWHM) has been achieved. Results are presented for the masses of 68As, 70,71Se and 73Br.

High precision direct mass measurements have shown strong potential to identify and determine new nuclear isomeric states, and therefore to add intriguing new nuclear physics information by going beyond γ -ray spectroscopy. The principle and characteristic experimental results of isomer investigations in the storage ring at GSI are discussed.

A novel method for direct, high precision mass measurements of relativistic exotic nuclei has been successfully applied in the storage ring ESR at GSI. The nuclei of interest were produced by projectile fragmentation of 930 MeV / u bismuth ions, separated in-flight by the fragment separator FRS, stored and cooled in the ESR. The mass values have been deduced from the revolution frequencies of the coasting cooled ions. We have measured 104 new mass values with a precision of about 100 keV and a resolving power of 3.5×10 5 for the neutron-deficient isotopes of the elements 57≤Z≤84 . This paper presents the experimental method, the mass evaluation and a table of the experimental mass values.

Short-lived exotic nuclei can be produced and separated with the high-energy secondary nuclear beam facility FRS at GSI. These nuclides can be injected and stored in the storage ring ESR. The lower lifetime limit of the presently existing methods for mass measurements on these nuclides at the ESR is about a few seconds. We have developed and investigated an isochronous operational mode of the ESR, that makes mass measurements of nuclides with lifetimes down to a few ls feasible. It has been commissioned in experiments using long-lived nuclides with known masses. A mass resolving power of about 150 000 has been achieved in a "rst pilot experiment. A suitable detector system has been implemented and commissioned at the ESR that allows measurements of the revolution period of single particles within a few turns in the ESR. ( 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

In the current contribution, we give an overview of the envisioned X-ray spectroscopy program within the atomic physics research collaboration SPARC (Stored Particle Atomic Research Collaboration) at FAIR (Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research). These activities comprise, among others, the investigation of relativistic collision dynamics, electron correlation in the presence of strong fields, the test of Quantum Electrodynamics in extremely strong electromagnetic fields, and ideas to test the predictions of fundamental theories besides Quantum Electrodynamics. The state of the art X-ray spectroscopy will be of key importance for realization of these challenging goals. The world-wide unique experimental conditions and opportunities offered by the future FAIR facility will be combined with advanced X-ray detection devices, i.e. large-area, segmented solid-state detectors, high-resolution crystal spectrometers, calorimetric detectors etc.

The bremsstrahlung process in the domain of strong Coulomb fields has been investigated for and Ar target electrons colliding with He-like uranium ions at . The differential cross sections for bremsstrahlung were measured at laboratory observation angles of , , and . Substantial discrepancies were found between the experimental cross sections and the first-order Born approximation calculations. The reported data provide a new testing ground for non-perturbative treatment of the coupling between radiation and matter in the presence of strong fields.

Recent results of mass measurements of exotic heavy nuclei using Schottky mass spectrometry are reported. The investigated nuclei were produced and separated by the fragment separator FRS, injected, stored and cooled in the experimental storage ring ESR. Their masses were determined from the frequency analysis of the beam noise. In the present experiment the masses of more than 150 proton-rich nuclei in the mass region A ∼- 200 have been determined for the first time. Representative results are given for proton-separation energies and shell corrections. For some elements the proton drip line can be determined.

New recombination experiments with merged cold beams of electrons and atomic ions have been carried out at the storage ring facilities TSR in Heidelberg, ESR in Darmstadt, and CRYRING in Stockholm. A brief overview is given on the recent activities in which the Giessen group was engaged. Topics of this research were dielectronic recombination (DR) of astrophysically relevant ions, recombination of highly charged ions with respect to cooling losses in storage rings, field effects on DR, search for interference effects in photorecombination of ions, correlation effects in DR of low-Z ions, spectroscopy of high-Z ions by DR, and lifetimes of metastable states deduced from DR experiments.

Electron bremsstrahlung has been investigated for collisions of 223.2 MeV/amu He-like uranium ions with N2 and Ar gaseous targets. The doubly differential cross-sections for bremsstrahlung are compared to the predictions of relativistic first order Born calculations (Bethe-Heitler formula with Elwert correction factor) and to the calculations based on the exact wavefunctions for electrons moving in the external point-Coulomb potential of the projectile. Whereas the “exact” IPA calculations give an improved agreement with experimental data, as compared to the Bethe-Heitler theory, in particular at the end-point region of the bremsstrahlung spectra, discrepancies still remain at lower photon energies.

We observed the bound-state β− decay of fully ionized 187Re-nuclei circulating in the experimental storage ring ESR at GSI. 187Re ions were accelerated in the GSI accelerator complex to a final energy of 347 MeV/u, fully stripped and injected into the ESR. During storage times of up to four hours, several hundred 187Os75+ ions were produced via bound-state β− decay of 187Re75+ ions and circulating on almost the same orbit. To separate the 187Os ions from their mother nuclei, an internal Ar gas jet target was used to strip off the last electron and produce 187Os76+. As a result of the higher charge state the 187Os ions now were stronger deflected by the following dipole magnet, and detected in a position sensitive microstrip-gas-counter. The determined half-life is T 1 2 = 31.2 −2.5 +3.0 yr . With the now measured 187Re half-life the 187 Re 187 Os cosmochronometer can be recalibrated. By taking into account the β− decay enhancement in stellar interiors, this ‘clock’ will lead to a more accurate estimation of the Galactic age.

The deceleration capabilities of the ESR have been used for the first time in a dedicated ground state QED experiment conducted at the gasjet target of the ring. By decelerating bare uranium ions from 358 MeV/u down to energies of as low as 49 MeV/u, X-ray spectra have been obtained which provide an abundant yield of characteristic X-ray transitions. The experiment demonstrates that, by choosing the appropriate beam energy and gasjet target, almost all excited projectile states can be selectively populated. Moreover, the experiment provides the first data for beam lifetimes of stored decelerated high-Z ions. Such data are essential for the design of future experiments dealing with decelerated ion beams far below 50 MeV/u.

In the last two decades a number of nuclear structure and astrophysics experiments were performed at heavy-ion storage rings employing unique experimental conditions offered by such machines. Furthermore, building on the experience gained at the two facilities presently in operation, several new storage ring projects were launched worldwide. This contribution is intended to provide a brief review of the fast growing field of nuclear structure and astrophysics research at storage rings., XVIth International Conference on Electro-Magnetic Isotope Separators and Techniques Related to their Applications, December 2--7, 2012 at Matsue, Japan

Storage-ring mass spectrometry was applied to neutron-rich ${}^{197}$Au projectile fragments. Masses of ${}^{181,183}$Lu, ${}^{185,186}$Hf, ${}^{187,188}$Ta, ${}^{191}$W, and ${}^{192,193}$Re nuclei were measured for the first time. The uncertainty of previously known masses of ${}^{189,190}$W and ${}^{195}$Os nuclei was improved. Observed irregularities on the smooth two-neutron separation energies for Hf and W isotopes are linked to the collectivity phenomena in the corresponding nuclei.

We propose to install a storage ring at an ISOL-type radioactive beam facility for the first time. Specifically, we intend to setup the heavy-ion, low-energy ring TSR at the HIE-ISOLDE facility in CERN, Geneva. Such a facility will provide a capability for experiments with stored secondary beams that is unique in the world. The envisaged physics programme is rich and varied, spanning from investigations of nuclear ground-state properties and reaction studies of astrophysical relevance, to investigations with highly-charged ions and pure isomeric beams. The TSR might also be employed for removal of isobaric contaminants from stored ion beams and for systematic studies within the neutrino beam programme. In addition to experiments performed using beams recirculating within the ring, cooled beams can also be extracted and exploited by external spectrometers for high-precision measurements. The existing TSR, which is presently in operation at the Max-Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg, is well-suited and can be employed for this purpose. The physics cases as well as technical details of the existing ring facility and of the beam and infrastructure requirements at HIE-ISOLDE are discussed in the present technical design report. ispartof: European Physical Journal. Special Topics vol:207 issue:1 pages:1-117 status: published

One of the major problems in nuclear astrophysics concerns the estimation of electron screening effects on nuclear reaction rates. We have proposed investigating the electron screening effects of nuclear systems which decay via α-particles, using fragmented beams at relativistic energies produced at the present GSI FRS-ESR facility. By looking at the modification of the half-lives and Q -value of highly charged emitters, we expect to estimate the electron screening energies. © 2012 The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

A study of neutron-rich isotopes in the A=185 region of the nuclear chart has uncovered long-lived (>1 s) isomers in several isotopes of hafnium, tantalum, tungsten, rhenium, and osmium. The region was accessed via the use of projectile fragmentation with the UNILAC-SIS accelerators at GSI. Fragmentation products of 197Au were passed through the fragment separator (FRS) and injected into the experimental storage ring (ESR), where single-ion identifications could be made. Evidence is presented for isomers in 183,184,186Hf, 186,187Ta, 186W, 190,192,194Re, and 195Os with excitation energies in the range of 0.1–3.0 MeV. The lightest of these nuclides have well deformed prolate shapes, while the heaviest are transitional and susceptible to shape changes. Their properties are interpreted with the help of multi-quasiparticle and potential-energy-surface calculations.

Absolute rate coefficients for dielectronic recombination (DR) of H-like ${\mathrm{U}}^{91+}$ ions have been measured. The electron-ion merged-beam technique at a heavy-ion storage ring was employed using a stochastically cooled ion beam. Thereby, the previously accessible electron-ion collision energies could be greatly extended to the range 63--90 keV. High-resolution DR spectra were measured covering all $\mathit{KLL}$ and $\mathit{KLM}$ resonances. For the resonance strengths, excellent agreement between relativistic theory and experiment is found only if the Breit contribution to the electron-electron interaction is included in the calculations. For the $\mathit{KL}$${}_{1/2}$$L$${}_{1/2}$ and $\mathit{KL}$${}_{1/2}$$M$${}_{1/2}$ groups the Breit contribution amounts to 44% of their total resonance strengths.

The Allchar mine in the southern FYR Macedonia contains the world's largest known concentration of thallium bearing minerals. LOREX (acronym for the geo-chemical LORandite EXperiment) is an international collaboration exploring the opportunity to use the rare mineral lorandite ( TlAsS 2) for the determination of the solar pp-neutrino flux, averaged over the 4.3 million year age of the deposit. Here we discuss the possibility to determine simultaneously both the solar neutrino and the cosmic ray muon flux, averaged over the same period of time. Cosmic-ray muons participate in the reaction 205 Tl (μp, n)205 Pb , whereas the neutrinos induce the capture reaction 205 Tl (νe, e)205 Pb * → 205 Pb . Both fluxes can in principle be determined by counting the number of atoms of the long-lived 205 Pb present in the mineral, produced by both muons and neutrinos in the reactions with the most abundant stable isotope, 205 Tl .

A study of cooled Au-197 projectile-fragmentation products has been performed with a storage ring. This has enabled metastable nuclear excitations with energies up to 3 MeV, and half-lives extending to minutes or longer, to be identified in the neutron-rich nuclides Hf-183,Hf-184,Hf-186 and Ta-186,Ta-187. The results support the prediction of a strongly favored isomer region near neutron number 116.

During the present commissioning phase of the new heavy-ion facilities at GSI first radioactive beams have been produced by the Projectile Fragment Separator, while beams of stable neon, argon, krypton, and bismuth ions have been stored and cooled in the Experimental Storage Ring. The connection between these two facilities has been installed, so that first tests of injecting radioactive fragments will soon be possible. This procedure and the available beam diagnostics are briefly described. Main emphasis is given to the description of gas-filled multiwire proportional chambers that serve as position-sensitive detectors to monitor the low-intensity radioactive beams.

An open problem in Nuclear Astrophysics concerns the understanding of electron‐screening effects on nuclear reaction rates at stellar energies. In this framework, we have proposed to investigate the influence of the electron cloud on α‐decay by measuring Q‐values and α‐decay half‐lives of fully stripped, H‐like and He‐like ions. These kinds of measurements have been feasible just recently for highly‐charged radioactive nuclides by fragmentation of 238U at relativistic energies at the FRS‐ESR facility at GSI. In this way it is possible to produce, efficiently separate and store highly‐charged α‐emitters. Candidates for the proposed investigation were carefully selected and will be studied by using the Schottky Mass Spectroscopy technique. In order to establish a solid reference data set, lifetimes and Qα‐value measurements of the corresponding neutrals have been performed directly at the FRS, by implanting the separated ions into an active Silicon stopper.

Motivated by the observation of energy- and momentum-correlatede+e− pairs in heavy ion collisions, a search for resonances ine+e− scattering at the corresponding energies has been made. Thee+e− decay channel is analyzed in a time window from ∼ 10−13 s to ∼ 10−11 s with a set-up optimized for low-background detection of delayede+e− decays. The two-photon decay channel of a hypothetical resonance is investigated by measuring the two-photon annihilation-in-flight excitation function. New upper limits for the partiale+e− decay width Γee of a few meV are derived for total centre-of-mass energies √s between 1.78 and 1.92 MeV, taking into account the dilepton as well as the two-photon decay of a neutral resonance.

The study of isotope shifts and hyperfine effects in dielectronic recombination (DR) resonance spectra strikes a conceptually new path for investigations of nuclear properties such as charge radius, spin, magnetic moment of nuclei or lifetimes of long-lived excited nuclear states. A series of DR experiments with heavy three-electron ions (Li-like) was performed at the heavy-ion storage ring ESR of the GSI Helmholtzzentrum fur Schwerionenforschung, Darmstadt, Germany. In a pilot experiment the two stable isotopes A=142 and A=150 of neodymium ANd57+ were investigated. From the displacement of DR resonances the isotope shifts δE142,150(2s – 2Pl/2) = 40.2(3)(6) meV and δE142,150(2s – 2p3/2) = 42.3(12)(20) meV for 2s – 2Pj transitions of the Li-like ions have been obtained. An evaluation within a full QED framework yielded a change in the mean-square charge radius of 142,150δ(r2) = −1.36(1)(3) fm2. At GSI, in addition to stable isotopes, in-flight synthesized radioisotopes can be studied as well. The production of radioisotopes of interest, the subsequent separation in the storage ring ESR and first DR experiments with the exotic nuclei 237U89+ and 234Pa88+ (Z=91) are presented. The paper is concluded with a brief outlook at future DR experiments with heavy radioisotopes at the ESR.

The previously pioneered Isochronous Mass Spectrometry (IMS) has been extended by an additional precise magnetic-rigidity determination to enable accurate large-scale measurements of stored short-lived relativistic nuclei with the FRS-ESR facility at 382 MeV/u. With this novel experimental tool the mass resolving power and accuracy have been improved by a factor of about 3. The recorded broad-band revolution time spectrum corresponds to the mass-over-charge range of about 6%. A mass resolving power of 200 000 (FWHM) and a typical accuracy of 120 keV have been achieved almost over the entire spectrum. The masses of 35 neutron-rich nuclides have been directly measured in the element range from aluminum to barium. The Masses of 8 nuclides (85,86As, 89Se, 123Ag, 138Te, 140,141I, 143Xe) have been measured for the first time. The results are compared with previous experimental data and theoretical predictions. The evolution of the N = 50 shell closure towards doubly-magic 78Ni is discussed.

the heavy ion storage rings coupled to in-flight radioactive-ion beam facilities, namely the ability to produce and store for extended periods of time radioactive nuclides in high atomic charge states, for the search of yet unobserved decay mode - bound-state electron-positron pair decay.

The combination of the in‐flight separator FRS and the storage‐ring ESR at GSI offers unique possibilities for high accuracy mass and lifetime measurements of bare and few‐electron fragments. Operating the ESR in the isochronous mode allows for measurements of revolution frequencies of stored ions without cooling. Isochronous Mass Spectrometry (IMS) can be applied to fragments with half‐lives as short as several tens of microseconds. Newly developed magnetic rigidity tagging increases the resolving power of IMS to about 500000. IMS can be used to measure masses of nuclei with rates even lower than one ion per day, a property also needed for the purpose of the ILIMA project at the future facility FAIR.