High-precision Penning trap mass measurements of 9,10Be and the one-neutron halo nuclide 11Be

Abstract

Penning trap mass measurements of 9Be, 10Be (t1/2=1.51 My), and the one-neutron halo nuclide 11Be (t1/2=13.8 s) have been performed using TITAN at TRIUMF. The resulting 11Be mass excess (ME=20177.60(58) keV) is in agreement with the current Atomic Mass Evaluation (AME03) [G. Audi, et al., Nucl. Phys. A 729 (2003) 337] value, but is over an order of magnitude more precise. The precision of the mass values of 9,10Be have been improved by about a factor of four and reveal a ≈2σ deviation from the AME mass values. Results of new atomic physics calculations are presented for the isotope shift of 11Be relative to 9Be, and it is shown that the new mass values essentially remove atomic mass uncertainties as a contributing factor in determining the relative nuclear charge radius from the isotope shift. The new mass values of 10,11Be also allow for a more precise determination of the single-neutron binding energy of the halo neutron in 11Be.