High-precision mass measurements of the ground and isomeric states in 124,125Ag

The masses of the ground and isomeric states in 124,125Ag have been measured using the phase-imaging ion-cyclotron-resonance technique at the JYFLTRAP double Penning trap mass spectrometer. The ground states of ¹²⁴Ag and ¹²⁵Ag were found to be 30(250) keV and 250(430) keV less bound but 36 and 110 times more precise than in the Atomic Mass Evaluation 2020, respectively. The excitation energy of ¹²⁴Agᵐ, Eₓ = 188.2(25) keV, was determined for the first time. The new precise mass values have been utilised to study the evolution of nuclear structure via two-neutron separation energies. The impact on the astrophysical rapid neutron capture process has been investigated via neutron-capture reaction rate calculations. The precision measurements indicate a more linear trend in two-neutron separation energies and reduce the mass-related uncertainties for the neutron-capture rate of ¹²⁴Ag(n,γ)¹²⁵Ag by a factor of around 100. The new mass values also improve the mass of ¹²³Pd, previously measured using ¹²⁴Ag as a reference.