Preparing a journey to the east of 208Pb with ISOLTRAP: Isobaric purification at A = 209 and new masses for 211-213Fr and 211Ra.

With the Penning trap mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP, located at ISOLDE/CERN, preparatory work has been performed towards mass and decay studies on neutron-rich Hg and Tl isotopes beyond N = 126 . The properties of these isotopes are not well known because of large isobaric contamination coming mainly from surface-ionised Fr. Within the studies, production tests using several target-ion source combinations were performed. It was furthermore demonstrated around mass number A = 209 that the resolving power required to purify Fr is achievable with ISOLTRAP. In addition, masses of several isobaric contaminants, ^211-213Fr and ²¹¹Ra , were determined with a three-fold improved precision. The results influence masses of more than 20 other nuclides in the ²⁰⁸Pb region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]