Grant: Subatomic Physics Envelope - Project

The mass of the atomic nucleus is one of the most fundamental properties of such many body systems. Precise mass measurements serve as a testing ground for nuclear theory and models and stimulate their further improvements. They are required for weak interaction studies in nuclear beta-decay, and for sensitive tests of nuclear structure at the extremes. Moreover, in the field of nuclear astro-physics, atomic masses are needed for an understanding of the synthesis of the heavier elements in the universe. TITAN (TRIUMF's Ion Trap for Atomic and Nuclear science) is a multi-ion trap system installed at the radioactive ion beam facility ISAC. TITAN is able to carry out mass measurements of very high precision, with delta m ~1 keV, (or a relative precision of 1-10-8) even for isotopes with short half-lives (a tenth of a second) and for isotopes very far from the valley of stability. TITAN is installed at the TRIUMF National Laboratory for Particle and Nuclear Physics, and is uniquely positioned to carry out some of the most demanding high precision experiments in nuclear physics. The uniqueness of the system lies in the combination of different kind of ion traps, a combination nowhere else available, and the coupling of this system to ISAC as a source of the most intense radioactive beams of very exotic nuclei worldwide. ISAC is by now operational for more than 5 years, and has proven to deliver a broad variety of radioactive species with unsurpassed production yields. The production of the most exotic isotopes, like 11Li is over a factor 50 higher than elsewhere. Experiments with TITAN are starting in 2007.