Identification of new nuclei near the proton drip line

Abstract
Nine new very neutron-deficient isotopes of Ag, Pd, Rh, and Ru have been identified among the reaction products of an E/A=60 MeV Cd106 beam using the A1200 projectile fragment separator at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory. One of these isotopes, Ag94, is among the heaviest N=Z nuclei observed so far. The resulting mass spectra are presented and the astrophysical implications of the stability towards proton emission of one of the new isotopes, Ag95, are discussed.