Identification of a possible new island of inversion, O. Tarasov, NSCL / Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA − Experiments at the NSCL have used projectile fragmentation coupled with the two-stage separation technique to explore the properties of very neutron-rich nuclei. In a recent experiment, production cross sections for a large number of neutron-rich nuclei produced from the fragmentation of a ⁷⁶Ge beam at 132 MeV/u with beryllium and tungsten targets were measured, including 15 new isotopes of the elements 17 ≤ Z ≤ 25. Enhanced cross sections of several new nuclei as compared to a simple thermal evaporation framework, which has been shown to describe similar production cross sections, indicate that nuclei in the region around ⁶²Ti might be more stable than predicted by current mass models. This could indicate the existence of a new island of inversion [1].

In the most recent experiment, a newly-developed primary beam of ⁸²Se at 140 MeV/u was used to extend these measurements of production cross sections. Several isotopes of the elements 22 ≤ Z ≤ 26 have been observed for the first time. Production cross sections of neutron-rich nuclei produced by fragmentation of a ⁸²Se beam, and their analysis to elucidate the possible new island of inversion will be presented.