Directly Measuring SHE Mass Numbers with FIONA

Super Heavy Elements (SHEs), which occur at the extreme limits of proton (Z) and neutron (N) numbers, are ideal testing grounds for investigations of exotic atomic and nuclear properties. Unfortunately, these elements are extremely difficult to study as they are short-lived and have alpha-decay chains that end in the spontaneous fission of nuclei with poorly-established Z and N. Presently, relative mass number (A) assignments for observed SHE isotopes are mostly well understood, but their placement on the nuclidic chart is heavily dependent on the extrapolated accuracy of the current nuclear mass models. It is extremely important to make a direct-experimental measurement of a SHE A so that we can anchor all of the relative A assignments, thus confirming the A of all observed SHEs. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) has a long history of studying SHEs with the Berkeley Gas-Filled Separator (BGS), which has recently been coupled to the newly-constructed apparatus For the Investigation of Nuclide A (FIONA). FIONA was designed to cool and bunch ions selected by the BGS before transporting them into a low-background area where they are separated and identified by their mass-to-charge ratio (A/q) on a tens-of-milliseconds timescale. Recent results will be presented.