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The novel technique of mean range bunching has been developed and applied at the projectile fragment separator FRS at GSI in four experiments of the FAIR phase-0 experimental program. Using a variable degrader system at the final focal plane of the FRS, the ranges of the different nuclides can be aligned, allowing to efficiently implant a large number of different nuclides simultaneously in a gas-filled stopping cell or an implantation detector. Stopping and studying a cocktail beam overcomes the present limitations of stopped-beam experiments. The conceptual idea of mean range bunching is described and illustrated using simulations. In a single setting of the FRS, 37 different nuclides were stopped in the cryogenic stopping cell and were measured in a single setting broadband mass measurement with the multiple-reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometer of the FRS Ion Catcher. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neutron-deficient iodine isotopes, 116 I and 114 I, were produced at relativistic energies by in-flight fragmentation at the Fragment Separator (FRS) at GSI. The FRS Ion Catcher was used to thermalize the ions and to perform highly accurate mass measurements with a Multiple-Reflection Time-of-Flight Mass-Spectrometer (MR-TOF-MS). The masses of both isotopes were measured directly for the first time. The half-life of the 114 I was measured by storing the ions in an RF quadrupole for different storage times and counting the remaining nuclei with the MR-TOF-MS. The measured half-life was used to assign the ground state to the measured 114 I ions. Predictions on the possible α -decay branch for 114 I are presented based on the reduced uncertainties obtained for the Q α -value. Systematic studies of the mass surface were performed with the newly obtained masses, showing better agreement with the expected trend in this mass region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experiments with low-energy rare ion beams often suffer from a large amount of molecular contaminant ions. We present the simple isolation-dissociation-isolation method to suppress this kind of contamination. The method can be applied to almost all types of low-energy beamlines. In a first step, a coarse isolation of the mass-to-charge ratio of interest is performed, e.g. by a dipole magnet. In a second step, the ions are dissociated. The last step is again a coarse isolation of the mass-to-charge ratio around the ion of interest. The method was tested at the FRS Ion Catcher at GSI with a radioactive ion source installed inside the cryogenic stopping cell as well as with relativistic ions delivered by the synchrotron SIS-18 and stopped in the cryogenic stopping cell. The isolation and dissociation, here collision-induced dissociation, have been implemented in a gas-filled RFQ beamline. A reduction of molecular contamination by more than 4 orders of magnitude was achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to the favorable depth-dose distribution and the radiobiological properties of heavy ion radiation, ion beam therapy shows an improved success/toxicity ratio compared to conventional radiotherapy. The sharp dose gradients and very high doses in the Bragg peak region, which represent the larger physical advantage of ion beam therapy, make it also extremely sensitive to range uncertainties. The use of β + -radioactive ion beams would be ideal for simultaneous treatment and accurate online range monitoring through PET imaging. Since all the unfragmented primary ions are potentially contributing to the PET signal, these beams offer an improved image quality while preserving the physical and radiobiological advantages of the stable counterparts. The challenging production of radioactive ion beams and the difficulties in reaching high intensities, have discouraged their clinical application. In this context, the project Biomedical Applications of Radioactive ion Beams (BARB) started at GSI (Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH) with the main goal to assess the technical feasibility and investigate possible advantages of radioactive ion beams on the pre-clinical level. During the first experimental campaign 11C and 10C beams were produced and isotopically separated with the FRagment Separator (FRS) at GSI. The β + -radioactive ion beams were produced with a beam purity of 99% for all the beam investigated (except one case where it was 94%) and intensities potentially sufficient to treat a small animal tumors within few minutes of irradiation time, ∼ 1 0 6 particle per spill for the 10C and ∼ 1 0 7 particle per spill for the 11C beam, respectively. The impact of different ion optical parameters on the depth dose distribution was studied with a precision water column system. In this work, the measured depth dose distributions are presented together with results from Monte Carlo simulations using the FLUKA software. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gas-filled stopping cells are used at accelerator laboratories for the thermalization of high-energy radioactive ion beams. Common challenges of many stopping cells are a high molecular background of extracted ions and limitations of extraction efficiency due to space-charge effects. At the FRS Ion Catcher at GSI, a new technique for removal of ionized molecules prior to their extraction out of the stopping cell has been developed. This technique utilizes the RF carpet for the separation of atomic ions from molecular contaminant ions through their difference in ion mobility. Results from the successful implementation and test during an experiment with a 600 MeV/u 124Xe primary beam are presented. Suppression of molecular contaminants by three orders of magnitude has been demonstrated. Essentially background-free measurement conditions with less than 1 % of background events within a mass-to-charge range of 25 u/e have been achieved. The technique can also be used to reduce the space-charge effects at the extraction nozzle and in the downstream beamline, thus ensuring high efficiency of ion transport and highly-accurate measurements under space-charge-free conditions. Image 1 • Extraction of thermalized ions out of a gas-filled stopping cell with an RF carpet. • Atomic and molecular ions can be separated with the RF carpet by their ion mobility. • Suppression of molecular background by three orders of magnitude with the RF carpet. • Removal of space charge prior to extraction of ions out of the stopping cell. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long-lived isomeric states in 97Ag and 101−109In were investigated with the FRS Ion Catcher at GSI. In the isotope 97Ag, a long-lived (1 / 2 −) isomeric state was discovered, and its excitation energy was determined to be 618(38) keV. This is simultaneously the first discovery of a nuclear isomeric state by multiple-reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The measured excitation energies were compared to large-scale shell-model calculations, which indicated the importance of core excitation around 100Sn. Furthermore, advanced mean-field calculations for the 97Ag nucleus and relevant neighboring nuclei were performed, which have contributed to a better understanding of the repetitive appearance of certain isomeric structures in neighboring nuclei, and which have supported the discovery of the isomeric state in 97Ag in a global shell-evolution scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel method for simultaneous measurement of masses, Q-values, isomer excitation energies, half-lives and decay branching ratios of exotic nuclei has been demonstrated. The method includes first use of a stopping cell as an ion trap, combining storage of mother and daughter nuclides for variable durations in a cryogenic stopping cell (CSC), and afterwards the identification and counting of them by a multiple-reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometer (MR-TOF-MS). We utilized our method to record the decay and growth of the 216Po and 212Pb isotopes (alpha decay) and of the 119m2Sb isomer ( t 1 / 2 = 850 ± 90 ms) and 119gSb isotope (isomer transition), obtaining half-lives consistent with literature values. The amount of non-nuclear-decay losses in the CSC up to ∼ 10 s is negligible, which exhibits its extraordinary cleanliness. For 119Sb isotopes, we present the first direct measurements of the mass of its ground state, and the excitation energy and decay branching ratios of its second isomeric state (119m2Sb). This resolves discrepancies in previous excitation energy data, and is the first direct evidence that the 119m2Sb isomer decays dominantly via γ emission. These results pave the way for the measurement of branching ratios of exotic nuclei. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]