Accelerator mass spectrometry of heavy elements: 36 Cl to 205 Pb

Measurements are discussed in which the technique of accelerator mass spectrometry was applied to problems involving heavy radioisotopes. These measurements, which depend on the ion energies that can be reached with the new heavy-ion accelerator facilities, were performed at the Argonne tandem linac accelerator system (atlas) and at the unilac accelerator at GSI. The topics include a discussion of measurements of long nuclear lifetimes, of radioisotope detection of interest to solar neutrino experiments, and of a determination of the 41 Ca concentration in natural samples of terrestrial origin by m aking use of isotopic pre-enrichm ent in an isotope separator. A long-known m ethod of isobar separation, employing a gas-filled m agnetic field region, has been revived for some of these m easurem ents and its characteristics and advantages are briefly reviewed.