Conveners
Session 10
- Pete Jones (iThemba LABS, National Research Foundation (ZA))
The Resonance Ionization Laser Ion Source (RILIS) continues to provide element-selective radioactive ion beams to users at the ISOLDE facility[1], serving as the laser ion source for over 50% of experiments in 2025. In addition to its high efficiency in producing pure radioactive ion beams, RILIS has been advancing its capabilities through the Laser Ion Source and Trap (LIST) technique,...
The charge states and lattice sites of Fe ions in both virgin and Mn-doped Al$_x$Ga$_{1-x}$N samples have been investigated by employing $^{57}$Fe emission Mössbauer spectroscopy (eMS) using radioactive $^{57}$Mn$^+$ ion implantation at ISOLDE, CERN. In undoped Al$_x$Ga$_{1-x}$N, Fe$^{2+}$ ions occupying Al/Ga lattice sites associated with nitrogen vacancies, as well as substitutional...
Multi-humped fission barriers, as observed in the actinide region, give rise to isomeric fission [1]. Such barrier shapes can be described using various theoretical models [2]. Experimentally measured observables of nuclear fission isomers - such as the half-life, excitation energy, kinetic-energy spectra of fission fragments, and the isomer-to-ground-state population ratio - serve as...
Following the N=28 shell closure, a pronounced change in the slope of the charge radii, often referred to as a "kink", has been observed in neutron-rich calcium isotopes [1,2]. However, the exact amplitude of this kink and the underlying reasons for this phenomenon remain unclear. Theoretical predictions suggest that several factors could contribute to this behaviour, including the presence of...
Due to its low excitation energy around 8.4 eV, the unique $^{229}$Th isomer is the ideal candidate for developing a nuclear clock [1]. Such a clock would be particularly suited for fundamental physics studies [1]. In the past, measuring the isomer's radiative decay from a large-bandgap crystal doped with $^{229}$Th, has proven difficult: the commonly used population of the isomer via the...
