Understanding the universe, one isotope at a time

Synopsis

The atomic mass is a fundamental property and acts as a fingerprint of the individual atom or isotope. The atomic mass also plays a vital role in our understanding of nature, ranging from the chemical element nucleosynthesis in the Universe, for example through neutron star mergers, to testing the nuclear strong force on a fundamental level.  The most precise way to measure atomic masses is via ion traps and here in particular with so-called Penning traps. At the TRIUMF laboratory in Vancouver, we have developed very sensitive and fast methods using ion trap techniques at TITAN (TRIUMF‘s Ion Trap of Atomic and Nuclear science). The systemis suited and optimized for accelerator-produced isotopes, and holds the world record for fastest measurements, suitable for isotopes with 5ms half-lives.  In this talk I will give an overview of ion trap mass measurement programs and provide an overview of the TRIUMF activities. I will also report on recent measurements with TITAN, as well as current developments.