Isotope Harvesting at FRIB: Additional opportunities for scientific discovery

TL;DR

FRIB's excess radioisotopes, if harvested, could significantly advance scientific research and applications across medicine, security, and basic science, but require infrastructure investment for effective utilization.

Contribution

This paper highlights the potential of isotope harvesting at FRIB and discusses the necessary infrastructure to unlock new scientific and practical opportunities.

Findings

FRIB can produce about 80% of all possible atomic nuclei.

Harvested isotopes could enable new medical and security applications.

Infrastructure investment is essential for isotope harvesting at FRIB.

Abstract

The Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) at Michigan State University provides a unique opportunity to access some of the nation's most specialized scientific resources: radioisotopes. An excess of useful radioisotopes will be formed as FRIB fulfills its basic science mission of providing rare isotope beams. In order for the FRIB beams to reach high-purity, many of the isotopes are discarded and go unused. If harvested, the unused isotopes could enable cutting-edge research for diverse applications ranging from medical therapy and diagnosis to nuclear security. Given that FRIB will have the capability to create about 80 percent of all possible atomic nuclei, harvesting at FRIB will provide a fast path for access to a vast array of isotopes of interest in basic and applied science investigations. To fully realize this opportunity, infrastructure investment is required to enable harvesting and purification of otherwise unused isotopes. An investment in isotope harvesting at FRIB will provide the nation with a powerful resource for development of crucial isotope applications.