Ame-fut.txt    j April 12, 2007

    Just after the publication of the last AME+NUBASE in December
    2003, I organized special meetings during conferences to
    explain the questions raised by the future of the AME.
    At the same time I have had several discussions with various
    colleagues. (see newsletter amdc.045 and amdc.04a)

    The future of the AME from the user's side would have looked
    as regularly spaced joint publications of the two
    evaluations, first in 2008 with myself being responsible, and
    as co-authors, A.H.Wapstra and N.N. who would learn and help.
    This person N.N. would then take over the responsibility for
    the 2013 publication to which I could still contribute.
    N.N. would then continue and publish, if agreeing with this
    regularity, a new combined evaluation in 2018 and so on.
    The importance of having N.N. to work on the evaluation was
    still increased by the sudden disappearance of A.H.Wapstra in
    December 2006. Effectively, A.H.Wapstra stopped contributing
    one year earlier because of health problems.
    (It is important to note that a program like the AME should not
     be conducted by one person alone, because the quality of the
     work would suffer from no cross-checking of analysis and data
     handling. In all previous publications of the AME there was
     no refereeing by the editors, since it was considered that
     we did our own refereeing through cross-checking of our work.)

    This project has always been strongly encouraged by all the
    persons with whom I discussed.
    However, no serious commitment has ever been taken.
    Even trying as hard as possible, I have not been able to
    convince the various responsible in our community.
    Although the responsibility of one evaluation in the AME and
    its publication should be taken completely by one person, the
    future of the AME program is the responsibility of each one
    in our community, not of just one individual.

    Only 20 months remain before the planned next publication in
    December 2008. In the present situation, it is impossible to
    conduct a work of the same quality as in 2003.
    Therefore I am sorry to have to announce that there will not
    be an Ame2008 as was promised in December 2003, after the
    publication of Ame2003, and no new evaluations of masses or
    Nubase are foreseen at present.

    As far as I am concerned, in agreement with the authorities
    in my laboratory, I have stopped the evaluation program and
    joined an experimental program in our lab, that is not in the
    field of nuclear masses.
    Only in the case where a serious project will be set up,
    will I return to nuclear masses in order to transmit
    what I know and help preparing a new evaluation.
    The first stage of such project should include an institute
    INST sending N.N. to Orsay for four years (two years in case
    of an experienced senior), for him to learn and work on the
    AME (and NUBASE) and publish the evaluations at the end of
    this period. Then N.N. would go back to INST to pursue there
    further evaluations.

    The future of the Ame+Nubase evaluations now depends entirely
    on the determination of the community involved in atomic
    masses and its ability to set up a serious project.

    During the last years, I have received many positive
    appreciations and encouragements for the evaluation work.
    My sincere thanks to all those who expressed them.
    But time is now running so fast that encouragements are
    no more useful, nor efficient. They must give way to real
    commitments only.
    Therefore, please, direct preferably your comments or your
    concern to those that you know who have the possibility to
    set up such a project.