The properties of exotic nuclei on the verge of existence play a fundamental part in our understanding of nuclear interactions. Exceedingly neutron-rich nuclei become sensitive to new aspects of nuclear forces. Calcium, with its doubly magic isotopes (40)Ca and (48)Ca, is an ideal test for nuclear shell evolution, from the valley of stability to the limits of existence. With a closed proton shell, the calcium isotopes mark the frontier for calculations with three-nucleon forces from chiral effective field theory. Whereas predictions for the masses of (51)Ca and (52)Ca have been validated by direct measurements, it is an open question as to how nuclear masses evolve for heavier calcium isotopes. Here we report the mass determination of the exotic calcium isotopes (53)Ca and (54)Ca, using the multi-reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometer of ISOLTRAP at CERN. The measured masses unambiguously establish a prominent shell closure at neutron number N = 32, in excellent agreement with our theoretical calculations. These results increase our understanding of neutron-rich matter and pin down the subtle components of nuclear forces that are at the forefront of theoretical developments constrained by quantum chromodynamics.

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A novel approach to mass measurements at the 10⁻⁹ level for short-lived nuclides with half-lives well below one second is presented. It is based on the projection of the radial ion motion in a Penning trap onto a position-sensitive detector. Compared with the presently employed time-of-flight ion-cyclotron-resonance technique, the novel approach is 25-times faster and provides a 40-fold gain in resolving power. Moreover, it offers a substantially higher sensitivity since just two ions are sufficient to determine the ion’s cyclotron frequency. Systematic effects specific to the technique that can change the measured cyclotron frequency are considered in detail. It is shown that the main factors that limit the maximal accuracy and resolving power of the technique are collisions of the stored ions with residual gas in the trap, the temporal instability of the trapping voltage, the anharmonicities of the trapping potential and the uncertainty introduced by the conversion of the cyclotron to magnetron motion

A novel approach based on the projection of the Penning-trap ion motion onto a position-sensitive detector opens the door to very accurate mass measurements on the ppb level even for short-lived nuclides with half-lives well below a second. In addition to the accuracy boost, the new method provides a superior resolving power by which low-lying isomeric states with excitation energy on the 10-keV level can be easily separated from the ground state. A measurement of the mass difference of ^{130}Xe and ^{129}Xe has demonstrated the great potential of the new approach.

Electron-positron plasmas are unique in their behavior due to the mass symmetry. Strongly magnetized electron-positron, or pair, plasmas are present in a number of astrophysical settings, such as astrophysical jets, but they have not yet been created in the laboratory. Plans for the creation and diagnosis of pair plasmas in a stellarator are presented, based on extrapolation of the results from the Columbia Non-neutral Torus stellarator, as well as recent developments in positron sources. The particular challenges of positronium injection and pair plasma diagnostics are addressed.