Multi-Reflection Time-of-Flight Mass Separation and Spectrometry

The mass of a nucleus is one of its most fundamental ground-state properties and reveals the strength of nuclear binding. Investigating the binding energy of nuclei with respect to the number of protons and neutrons in a nucleus is important for advancing nuclear theory and increases our understanding of nucleosynthesis in supernovae and neutron stars. Precision mass measurements on radioactive nuclides belong to the state-of-the-art techniques [1, 2]. Presently, four complementary techniques are applied: isochronous and Schottky mass spectrometry in storage rings (IMS and SMS, respectively), magnetic-rigidity time-of-flight (TOF-ρ) measurements, and Penning-trap mass spectrometry (PTMS). With measurement cycles in the sub-ms range, IMS and TOF-Bρ MS are well suited for very short-lived species while offering moderate relative precision on the level of 10−6. A higher precision is achieved by SMS but with the need for measurement times on the order of several seconds. As soon as masses with a relative precision well below 10−7 are required, PTMS becomes the method of choice.