Penning-trap mass spectrometry of highly charged, neutron-rich Rb and Sr isotopes in the vicinity of $A\approx100$

Abstract

The neutron-rich mass region around $A\approx100$ presents challenges for modeling the astrophysical $r$-process because of rapid shape transitions. We report on mass measurements using the TITAN Penning trap at TRIUMF-ISAC to attain more reliable theoretical predictions of $r$-process nucleosynthesis paths in this region. A new approach using highly charged ($q=15+$) ions has been applied which considerably saves measurement time and preserves accuracy. New mass measurements of neutron-rich $^{94,97,98}$Rb and $^{94,97-99}$Sr have uncertainties of less than 4 keV and show deviations of up to 11$σ$ to previous measurements. An analysis using a parameterized $r$-process model is performed and shows that mass uncertainties for the A=90 abundance region are eliminated.