FIRST SPATIAL ISOTOPIC-SEPARATION OF RELATIVISTIC URANIUM PROJECTILE FRAGMENTS

Spatial isotopic separation of relativistic uranium projectile fragments has been achieved for the first time. The fragments were produced in peripheral nuclear collisions and spatially separated in-flight with the fragment separator FRS at GSI. A twofold magnetic-rigidity analysis was applied exploiting the atomic energy loss in specially shaped matter placed in the dispersive central focal plane. Systematic investigations with relativistic projectiles ranging from oxygen up to uranium demonstrate that the FRS is a universal and powerful facility for the production and in-flight separation of monoisotopic, exotic secondary beams of all elements up to Z = 92. This achievement has opened a new area in heavy-ion research and applications.