Direct mass measurements of the heaviest elements with Penning traps

• Direct mass measurements of elements above fermium with PTMS are feasible
• Shell effects in the region of the heaviest elements can be mapped by PTMS
• PTMS provides powerful tools for studies of the nuclear structure in the heaviest nuclides

Penning-trap mass spectrometry (PTMS) has become the method of choice for direct high-precision mass measurements of radionuclides in recent years. This has opened up many new possibilities for the study of the nuclear structure evolution in nuclides far away from stability. The introduction of buffer-gas stopping along with advanced ion-manipulation techniques has extended the reach of PTMS to radionuclides produced in fusion–evaporation reactions. Thus, the elements heavier than fermium that can only be produced in this way are now also accessible to PTMS. This contribution reviews the present status of direct mass measurements of the heaviest elements taking the pioneering measurements with SHIPTRAP at GSI as an example. Novel approaches that can be realized combining PTMS with other techniques are addressed and the future perspectives for experiments on superheavy elements are discussed.

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