New measurement of the mass of a strange atomic nucleus achieves very high precision
Tuesday, June 16, 2015 - 17:00
in Physics & Chemistry
An international team of physicists working at the Institute of Nuclear Physics at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) in Germany has measured the mass of a 'strange' atomic nucleus with the aid of an innovative technique that is capable of significantly greater precision than that of previous methods. The researchers were able, for the first time worldwide, to observe the radioactive decay of artificially generated nuclei of super-heavy hydrogen at the Mainz MAMI particle accelerator using a combination of several magnetic spectrometers. They could then precisely determine the mass on the basis of accurate measurement of the decay product. The results have been published in the journal Physical Review Letters.