The NEXT Project: Towards Production and Investigation of Neutron-Rich Heavy Nuclides
The heaviest actinide elements are only accessible in accelerator-based experiments on a one-atom-at-a-time level. Usually, fusion–evaporation reactions are applied to reach these elements. However, access to the neutron-rich isotopes is limited. An alternative reaction mechanism to fusion–evaporati...
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2022-06-01
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| author | Julia Even Xiangcheng Chen Arif Soylu Paul Fischer Alexander Karpov Vyacheslav Saiko Jan Saren Moritz Schlaich Thomas Schlathölter Lutz Schweikhard Juha Uusitalo Frank Wienholtz |
| author_facet | Julia Even Xiangcheng Chen Arif Soylu Paul Fischer Alexander Karpov Vyacheslav Saiko Jan Saren Moritz Schlaich Thomas Schlathölter Lutz Schweikhard Juha Uusitalo Frank Wienholtz |
| author_sort | Julia Even |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The heaviest actinide elements are only accessible in accelerator-based experiments on a one-atom-at-a-time level. Usually, fusion–evaporation reactions are applied to reach these elements. However, access to the neutron-rich isotopes is limited. An alternative reaction mechanism to fusion–evaporation is multinucleon transfer, which features higher cross-sections. The main drawback of this technique is the wide angular distribution of the transfer products, which makes it challenging to catch and prepare them for precision measurements. To overcome this obstacle, we are building the NEXT experiment: a solenoid magnet is used to separate the different transfer products and to focus those of interest into a gas-catcher, where they are slowed down. From the gas-catcher, the ions are transferred and bunched by a stacked-ring ion guide into a multi-reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometer (MR-ToF MS). The MR-ToF MS provides isobaric separation and allows for precision mass measurements. In this article, we will give an overview of the NEXT experiment and its perspectives for future actinide research. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T00:25:40Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2218-2004 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T00:25:40Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Atoms |
| spelling | doaj.art-5e470a6de173463d81d20f0e43f48c612023-11-23T15:34:24ZengMDPI AGAtoms2218-20042022-06-011025910.3390/atoms10020059The NEXT Project: Towards Production and Investigation of Neutron-Rich Heavy NuclidesJulia Even0Xiangcheng Chen1Arif Soylu2Paul Fischer3Alexander Karpov4Vyacheslav Saiko5Jan Saren6Moritz Schlaich7Thomas Schlathölter8Lutz Schweikhard9Juha Uusitalo10Frank Wienholtz11Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Groningen, 9701 BA Groningen, The NetherlandsFaculty of Science and Engineering, University of Groningen, 9701 BA Groningen, The NetherlandsFaculty of Science and Engineering, University of Groningen, 9701 BA Groningen, The NetherlandsInstitut für Physik, Universität Greifswald, 17487 Greifswald, GermanyJoint Institute for Nuclear Research, 141980 Dubna, RussiaJoint Institute for Nuclear Research, 141980 Dubna, RussiaDepartment of Physics, University of Jyväskylä, 40014 Jyväskylä, FinlandInstitut für Kernphysik, Technical Univeristy of Darmstadt, 64289 Darmstadt, GermanyFaculty of Science and Engineering, University of Groningen, 9701 BA Groningen, The NetherlandsInstitut für Physik, Universität Greifswald, 17487 Greifswald, GermanyDepartment of Physics, University of Jyväskylä, 40014 Jyväskylä, FinlandInstitut für Kernphysik, Technical Univeristy of Darmstadt, 64289 Darmstadt, GermanyThe heaviest actinide elements are only accessible in accelerator-based experiments on a one-atom-at-a-time level. Usually, fusion–evaporation reactions are applied to reach these elements. However, access to the neutron-rich isotopes is limited. An alternative reaction mechanism to fusion–evaporation is multinucleon transfer, which features higher cross-sections. The main drawback of this technique is the wide angular distribution of the transfer products, which makes it challenging to catch and prepare them for precision measurements. To overcome this obstacle, we are building the NEXT experiment: a solenoid magnet is used to separate the different transfer products and to focus those of interest into a gas-catcher, where they are slowed down. From the gas-catcher, the ions are transferred and bunched by a stacked-ring ion guide into a multi-reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometer (MR-ToF MS). The MR-ToF MS provides isobaric separation and allows for precision mass measurements. In this article, we will give an overview of the NEXT experiment and its perspectives for future actinide research.https://www.mdpi.com/2218-2004/10/2/59NEXTneutron-rich nucleimutlinucleon transfersolenoid separatormass spectrometer |
| spellingShingle | Julia Even Xiangcheng Chen Arif Soylu Paul Fischer Alexander Karpov Vyacheslav Saiko Jan Saren Moritz Schlaich Thomas Schlathölter Lutz Schweikhard Juha Uusitalo Frank Wienholtz The NEXT Project: Towards Production and Investigation of Neutron-Rich Heavy Nuclides Atoms NEXT neutron-rich nuclei mutlinucleon transfer solenoid separator mass spectrometer |
| title | The NEXT Project: Towards Production and Investigation of Neutron-Rich Heavy Nuclides |
| title_full | The NEXT Project: Towards Production and Investigation of Neutron-Rich Heavy Nuclides |
| title_fullStr | The NEXT Project: Towards Production and Investigation of Neutron-Rich Heavy Nuclides |
| title_full_unstemmed | The NEXT Project: Towards Production and Investigation of Neutron-Rich Heavy Nuclides |
| title_short | The NEXT Project: Towards Production and Investigation of Neutron-Rich Heavy Nuclides |
| title_sort | next project towards production and investigation of neutron rich heavy nuclides |
| topic | NEXT neutron-rich nuclei mutlinucleon transfer solenoid separator mass spectrometer |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2218-2004/10/2/59 |
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