- Accepted Paper
Delivery of refractory radioactive ion beams via in-trap decay at ISOLDE
Phys. Rev. C - Accepted 27 August, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/6m5s-pxyz
Phys. Rev. C - Accepted 27 August, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/6m5s-pxyz
An approach to deliver intense ion beams of refractory radioactive isotopes utilizing in-trap decay is demonstrated using the gas-filled ISCOOL ion trap at CERN-ISOLDE. Ion beams of Rb and Sr were injected into the ion trap, where they underwent decay and the daughter ions were successfully confined in the same trap. The produced singly charged ions were subsequently extracted and identified using the ISOLTRAP multi-reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometer, where the beam composition was analyzed as a function of trapping time. Modeling the observed time-dependent populations of the parent and daughter ions using the Bateman equations reproduces the isotopes’ known half-lives, thereby confirming production via in-trap decay, achieving an overall efficiency for the singly charged daughter beams on the order of {1} relative to the parent intensity. Using this method, delivery of a singly charged atomic ion beam of {Y} is thus reported for the first time at ISOLDE. These results demonstrate a practical and operationally simple method for delivering refractory isotopes at {thick-target isotope-separation-on-line (ISOL)} facilities, opening new opportunities for nuclear-structure studies of chemically challenging isotopes.
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