Upgrade of the SPIRAL identification station for high-precision measurements of nuclear β decay

G.F. Grinyer (1) , J.C. Thomas (1) , Bertram Blank (2) , H. Bouzomita (1) , R.A.E. Austin (3) , G.C. Ball (4) , F. Bucaille (1) , P. Delahaye (1) , P. Finlay (5) , G. Frémont (1) , J. Gibelin (6) , J. Giovinazzo (2) , J. Grinyer (1) , T. Kurtukian Nieto (2) , A.T. Laffoley (7) , K.G. Leach (7) , A. Lefèvre (1) , F. Legruel (1) , G. Lescalié (1) , D. Perez-Loureiro (1)

1 GANIL - Grand Accélérateur National d'Ions Lourds
2 NEX - Noyaux exotiques
3 Department of Astronomy and Physics [Halifax]
4 TRIUMF [Vancouver]
5 IKS - Instituut voor Kern-en Stralingsfysica
6 LPCC - Laboratoire de physique corpusculaire de Caen
7 Department of Physics [Guelph]

The low-energy identification station at SPIRAL (Système de Production d'Ions Radioactifs Accélérés en Ligne) has been upgraded for studying the β decays of short-lived radioactive isotopes and to perform high-precision half-life and branching-ratio measurements for superallowed Fermi and isospin T=1/2 mirror β decays. These new capabilities, combined with an existing Paul trap setup for measurements of β-ν angular-correlation coefficients, provide a powerful facility for investigating fundamental properties of the electroweak interaction through nuclear β decays. A detailed description of the design study, construction, and first results obtained from an in-beam commissioning experiment on the β+ decays 14 O and 17F is presented.

Mots clés: Superallowed Fermi β decay; Mirror β decay; Q3 Scintillator; Tape transport system; Half-lives; Branching ratios; Geant4 simulations

Domaines: Physique Nucléaire Expérimentale [nucl-ex]

G.F. Grinyer, J.C. Thomas, Bertram Blank, H. Bouzomita, R.A.E. Austin, et al.. Upgrade of the SPIRAL identification station for high-precision measurements of nuclear β decay. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, 2014, 741, pp.18-25. ⟨10.1016/j.nima.2013.11.106⟩. ⟨in2p3-00924885⟩