A Novel Method for Fundamental Interaction Studies with Electrostatic Ion Beam Trap

Trapped radioactive atoms present exciting opportunities for the study of fundamental interactions and symmetries. For example, detecting beta decay in a trap can probe the minute experimental signal that originates from possible tensor or scalar terms in the weak interaction. Such scalar or tensor terms affect, e.g., the angular correlation between a neutrino and an electron in the beta-decay process, thus probing new physics of beyond-the-standard-model nature. In particular, this article focuses on a novel use of an innovative ion trapping device, the Electrostatic Ion Beam Trap (EIBT). Such a trap has not been previously considered for Fundamental Interaction studies and exhibits potentially very significant advantages over other schemes. These advantages include improved injection efficiency of the radionuclide under study, an extended field-free region, ion-beam kinematics for better efficiency and ease-of-operation and the potential for a much larger solid angle for the electron and recoiling atom counters.

Absence of low-temperature dependence of the decay of 7Be and 198Au in metallic hosts

The electron-capture (EC) decay rate of 7Be in metallic Cu host and the beta-decay rate of 198Au in the host alloy Al-Au have been measured simultaneously at several temperatures, ranging from 0.350 K to 293 K. No difference of the half-life of 198Au between 12.5 K and 293 K is observed to a precision of 0.1%. By utilizing the special characteristics of our double-source assembly, possible geometrical effects that influence the individual rates could be eliminated. The ratio of 7Be to 198Au activity thus obtained also remains constant for this temperatures range to the experimental precision of 0.15(0.16)%. The resulting null temperature dependence is discussed in terms of the inadequacy of the often-used Debye-Huckel model for such measurements.