Abstract
High-precision mass measurements on neutron-rich zinc isotopes have been performed with the Penning trap mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP. For the first time, the mass of has been experimentally determined. This makes the first of the few major waiting points along the path of the astrophysical rapid neutron-capture process where neutron-separation energy and neutron-capture -value are determined experimentally. The astrophysical conditions required for this waiting point and its associated abundance signatures to occur in -process models can now be mapped precisely. The measurements also confirm the robustness of the shell closure for .
- Received 12 September 2008
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.101.262501
©2008 American Physical Society