The NEXT Project: Towards Production and Investigation of Neutron-Rich Heavy Nuclides

Julia Even*, Xiangcheng Chen, Arif Soylu, Paul Fischer, Alexander Karpov, Vyacheslav Saiko, Jan Saren, Moritz Schlaich, Thomas Schlathölter, Lutz Schweikhard, Juha Uusitalo, Frank Wienholtz

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)
106 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

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.

Original languageEnglish
Article number59
Number of pages8
JournalAtoms
Volume10
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun-2022

Keywords

  • mass spectrometer
  • mutlinucleon transfer
  • neutron-rich nuclei
  • NEXT
  • solenoid separator

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The NEXT Project: Towards Production and Investigation of Neutron-Rich Heavy Nuclides'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this