High-Precision Experiments with Trapped Radioactive Ions Produced at Relativistic Energies
, Wolfgang R. Plaß 1,2, Emma Haettner 1, Christine Hornung 1, Sivaji Purushothaman 1, Christoph Scheidenberger 1,2,3 and Helmut Weick 1Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe paper reviews the FRS Ion Catcher, which is a setup for precise experiments at the final focus of the symmetric branch of the FRS and introduces several advantages of experiments with thermalized, stopped or trapped products at relativistic energies. The experimental setup has been described clearly as the structure, main parameters, functions and performances of all sections have been explained succinctly.
But there is something apparently inconsistent between the title, the 2nd section and the 3rd section since, for example, ‘multi-step reactions in a very thick target’ are hardly related to ‘trapped’ and ‘FRS Ion Catcher’ but high energy. So that authors should check the consistency between the mentioned experiments and the FRS Ion Catcher or clarify the relationship between them.
Besides, although the topic of section 3 is emphasized by ‘advantages’, it is still suggested to describe related experimental methods in more detail to make readers understood easily.
Comments on the Quality of English LanguageThere are some language- and/or spelling- issues need to be corrected:
1. Line 16,17: ‘MR-TOF-MS’ is the abbreviation of ‘multiple-reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometer’, so it makes more sense to keep just one of them in key words.
2. Line 30-32: 1) are those commas behind ‘e.g.’ needed? 2) I think the structure of this sentence is: It has been used to discover XXX, measure XXX, conduct XXX, discover XXX, and make XXX. If so, ‘advances in hadron therapy’ should be expressed in a similar way.
3. Line 48-49: ... the (--> a) cryogenic gas-filled stopping cell... ,(delete and) an RFQ beamline including a … and the (--> a) multiple-reflection time-of-flight...
4. Line 33: the font of the element's symbol, ‘Sn’, should be normal.
5. Line 61: … density more then (--> than) six times …
6. Line 63, 66, Figure 5: the font of units should be normal.
7. Line 74: ‘of up to 50%’ or ‘of 50% to be achieved’, ‘of up to 50% to be achieved’ seems to be repetitive.
8. Line 94: … can be reduced by using …, ‘by’ is essential.
9. Line 99 : laser ablation carbon cluster ion source --> laser ablation carbon cluster ion source (LACCI) since LACCI appears in Figure 1.
10. Line 121 : illustrating ? illustrate ?
11. Line 135, 136: the font of subscripts in ‘Ap’, ‘Zp’, ‘Af, ‘Zf’ should be normal.
12. Line 172 : ‘S4’ should be interpreted.
13. Line 185: ‘PID’ should be interpreted with its full spelling.
14. Line 189: The mass number of 208Pb should be denoted by a superscript.
Author Response
Please find the point-by-point reply in the attached pdf.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe paper reviewed the high precision experiments with a combination of FRS, CSC and MR-TOF-MS at GSI. The addressed topic is of interest to the audience of Atoms and the article is suitable for publication. However, there are some issues that the authors should address prior to publication. The details are listed in the following:
1. I think the abstract is too long. Abstract is abstract and it should be concise and short. I hope the authors can shorten it.
2. Line 2: contribution --> with contribution
3. Line 34: matter --> devices ?
4. Figure 2: the size of the characters is too large
5. Line 70: meter --> m
6. Section 3.2: The beta-delayed neutron emission always happens in the neutron-rich isotopes, but the clear beams obtained possibly at FRS are for the isotopes in the proton-rich side as indicated in figure 3. Could you please say more about this?
7. Line 189: 208Pb --> $^{208}$Pb
8. Line 190: MNT --> multi-nucleon transfer
9. For the reference list, the author should be more careful and following the ATOMS instructions.
10. Line 224: Int. J. Mod. Phys. E ?
11. Line 233: Phys. Lett. B
12. Line 241: Phys. Lett. B
13. Line 254: Nucl. Instrum. Methods B
14. Line 259: 238U --> $^{238}$U, Phys. Lett. B
15. Line 261: 45Fe --> $^{45}$Fe, Eur. Phys. J. A
16. Line 281: Phys. Lett. B
17. Line 321: Int. J. Mass Spectrom.
18. Line 331: Nucl. Instrum. Methods A
19. Line 366: more author names
20. Line 367: 109In -->$^{109}$In, Nucl. Instrum. Methods B
21. Line 371: Nucl. Instrum. Methods B
22. Line 378: Phys. Rev.
23. Line 389: update the info
24. Line 391: Nucl. Instrum. Methods A
25. Line 396: Nucl. Instrum. Methods A
26. Line 399: Nucl. Instrum. Methods B
27. Line 406: Acta physica Polonica / B Particle physics and field theory, nuclear physics, theory of relativity B --> ??
28. Line 411: Nucl. Instrum. Methods B
29. Line 422: Nucl. Instrum. Methods A
30. Line 427: Nucl. Instrum. Methods B
Author Response
Please find the point-by-point reply in the attached pdf
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThis paper is well written and it provides a well-documented review of the scientific accomplishments of the FRS Ion Catcher over the last few years. The paper also provides a brief summary of the components of the FRS Ion Catcher with many useful references. Overall, the authors have done a good job of listing (with references) the different types of experiments that are possible and how the various components have enabled these measurements over the last few years.
I have just a couple of editorial comments.
1. In the first sentence of the Abstract, I suggest changing 'contribution' to 'contributing'.
2. In the second sentence in Section 3 consider changing "In the following examples illustrating ..." to "The following examples illustrate ...".
3. On page 5 (Section 3.1) the sentence "Simulations suggest ... in Figure 4." needs to be re-worded.
4. In Figure 5, the authors need to identify which panel is associated with the 750 MeV/u primary beam and which is for the 900 MeV/u beam.
5. Ensure that references are handled consistently (e.g., Ref. 12 and Ref. 29 do not include the article title).
Author Response
Please find the point-bypoint responce in the attached pdf.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
