Discovery of 98Sn Produced by the Projectile Fragmentation of a 345-MeV/Nucleon 124Xe Beam

We present the discovery of a new isotope of ⁹⁸Sn beyond the double-magic N = Z = 50 nucleus ¹⁰⁰Sn. ⁹⁸Sn was identified among the projectile-fragmentation products of a ¹²⁴Xe beam at 345 MeV/nucleon at the RI Beam Factory, RIKEN, Japan. Additionally, we have confirmed the production of ⁹⁶In and ⁹⁴Cd, previously reported as new isotopes at RIKEN. These highly proton-rich nuclei were separated and identified using the large-acceptance two-stage separator BigRIPS. Furthermore, we have determined the cross sections of ⁹⁸Sn and its neighboring nuclei. These experimental values were compared to the semi-empirical cross-section formula EPAX3.1a, resulting in a reduction of the predicted cross sections by roughly a factor of 5.