TOF-Bρ mass measurements of neutron rich nuclei at the NSCL

Nuclear masses of exotic nuclei far from stability are important key parameters for the understanding of the nuclear structure and several questions in nuclear astrophysics. Particularly the description of astrophysical processes, such as nucleosynthesis during the r-process or the evolution of matter in the crust of accreting neutron stars, is limited by the use of theoretical mass models. The experimental access to the mass of atoms is based on different techniques. Beside the measurements of nuclear decays and nuclear reaction studies, Penning trap facilities and time-of-flight (TOF) experiments allow the determination of masses. The latter two are somewhat complementary methods in respect of precision and accessibility of exotic nuclei. The time-of-flight-Bρ (TOF-Bρ) method has shown the potential to access nuclides very far from stability at several radioactive beam facilities. Here the setup of the TOF-Bρ experiment at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL) at the Michigan State University is presented. The results of the first experiment in the region of neutron-rich isotopes as well as upcoming measurements are discussed.