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

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new approach using an Electrostatic Ion Beam Trap for studying fundamental interactions with radioactive atoms, offering advantages like improved efficiency and larger detection solid angles.

Contribution

It presents the first application of the Electrostatic Ion Beam Trap for fundamental interaction research, highlighting its potential benefits over existing methods.

Findings

Enhanced injection efficiency for radionuclides

Extended field-free trapping region

Potential for larger solid angle detection

Abstract

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.