Gargamelle was a heavy liquid bubble chamber detector in operation at CERN between 1970 and 1979. It was designed to detect neutrinos and antineutrinos, which were produced with a beam from the Proton Synchrotron (PS) between 1970 and 1976, before the detector was moved to the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS). In 1979 an irreparable crack was discovered in the bubble chamber, and the detector was decommissioned. It is currently part of the "Microcosm" exhibition at CERN, open to the public.
In nuclear physics, an atomic nucleus is called a halo nucleus or is said to have a nuclear halo when it has a core nucleus surrounded by a "halo" of orbiting protons or neutrons, which makes the radius of the nucleus appreciably larger than that predicted by the liquid drop model. Halo nuclei form at the extreme edges of the table of nuclides — the neutron drip line and proton drip line — and have short half-lives, measured in milliseconds. These nuclei are studied shortly after their formation in an ion beam.
The ISOLDE Radioactive Ion Beam Facility, is an on-line isotope separator facility located at the centre of the CERN accelerator complex on the Franco-Swiss border. Created in 1964, the ISOLDE facility started delivering radioactive ion beams (RIBs) to users in 1967. Originally located at the Synchro-Cyclotron (SC) accelerator, the facility has been upgraded several times most notably in 1992 when the whole facility was moved to be connected to CERN's ProtonSynchroton Booster (PSB). ISOLDE is currently the longest-running facility in operation at CERN, with continuous developments of the facility and its experiments keeping ISOLDE at the forefront of science with RIBs. ISOLDE benefits a wide range of physics communities with applications covering nuclear, atomic, molecular and solid-state physics, but also biophysics and astrophysics, as well as high-precision experiments looking for physics beyond the Standard Model. The facility is operated by the ISOLDE Collaboration, comprising CERN and sixteen (mostly) European countries. As of 2019, close to 1,000 experimentalists around the world are coming to ISOLDE to perform typically 50 different experiments per year.
The Roman pot is the name of a technique used in accelerator physics. Named after its implementation by the CERN-Rome collaboration in the early 1970s, it is an important tool to measure the total cross section of two particle beams in a collider. They are called pots because the detectors are housed in cylindrical vessels. The first generation of Roman pots was purpose-built by the CERN Central Workshops and used in the measurement of the total cross-section of proton-proton inter-actions in the ISR.
The High Luminosity Large Hadron Collider is an upgrade to the Large Hadron Collider, operated by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), located at the French-Swiss border near Geneva. From 2011 to 2020, the project was led by Lucio Rossi. In 2020, the lead role was taken up by Oliver Brüning.
The NA49 experiment was a particle physics experiment that investigated the properties of quark–gluon plasma. The experiment's synonym was Ions/TPC-Hadrons. It took place in the North Area of the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) at CERN from 1991-2002.
Total absorption spectroscopy is a measurement technique that allows the measurement of the gamma radiation emitted in the different nuclear gamma transitions that may take place in the daughter nucleus after its unstable parent has decayed by means of the beta decay process. This technique can be used for beta decay studies related to beta feeding measurements within the full decay energy window for nuclei far from stability.
The Neutron Time Of Flight (n_TOF) facility is a neutron spectrometer at CERN, with the aim of studying neutron-nucleus interactions over a range of kinetic energies, using the time of flight method. The research conducted at the facility has applications in nuclear technology and nuclear astrophysics. The facility has been in operation at CERN since 2001, following a proposal from the former Director General, Carlo Rubbia, for a high-intensity neutron source.
An electron–ion collider (EIC) is a type of particle accelerator collider designed to collide spin-polarized beams of electrons and ions, in order to study the properties of nuclear matter in detail via deep inelastic scattering. In 2012, a whitepaper was published, proposing the developing and building of an EIC accelerator, and in 2015, the Department of Energy Nuclear Science Advisory Committee (NSAC) named the construction of an electron–ion collider one of the top priorities for the near future in nuclear physics in the United States.
The COLinear LAser SPectroscopy (COLLAPS) experiment is located in the ISOLDE facility at CERN. The purpose of the experiment is to investigate ground and isomeric state properties of exotic, short lived nuclei, including spins, electro-magnetic moments and charge radii. The experiment has been operating since the late 1970s, and is the oldest active experiment at ISOLDE.
The Collinear Resonance Ionization Spectroscopy (CRIS) experiment is located in the ISOLDE facility at CERN. The experiment aims to study ground-state properties of exotic nuclei and produce high purity isomeric beams used for decay studies. CRIS does this by using the high resolution technique of fast beam collinear laser spectroscopy, with the high efficiency technique of resonance ionization.
The Emission Channeling with Short-Lived Isotopes (EC-SLI) experiment is a permanent setup located within the ISOLDE facility and CERN. The purpose of the experiment is to study lattice locations of dopants and impurities in both single crystals and epitaxial thin films. The experiment uses short-lived isotopes from the ISOLDE on-line beamline, as well as longer-lived isotopes from three off-line beamlines.
The ISOLDE Decay Station (IDS) is a permanent experiment located in the ISOLDE facility at CERN. The purpose of the experiment is to measure decay properties of radioactive isotopes using spectroscopy techniques for a variety of applications, including nuclear engineering and astrophysics. The experimental setup has been operational since 2014.
The ISOLDE Solenoidal Spectrometer (ISS) experiment is a permanent experimental setup located in the ISOLDE facility at CERN. By using an ex-MRI magnet, heavy radioactive ion beams (RIBs) produced by the HIE-ISOLDE post-accelerator are directed at a light target and the kinematics of the reaction is measured. The purpose of the experiment is to measure properties of atomic nuclei replicating the conditions present in some astrophysical processes, such as the production of chemical elements in stars. The experiment will also produce results that provide a better understanding of nucleon-nucleon interactions in highly-unstable, very radioactive (exotic) nuclei.
The high-precision mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP experiment is a permanent experimental setup located at the ISOLDE facility at CERN. The purpose of the experiment is to make precision mass measurements using the time-of-flight (ToF) detection technique. Studying nuclides and probing nuclear structure gives insight into various areas of physics, including astrophysics.
The LUCRECIA experiment is a permanent experimental setup at the ISOLDE facility at CERN. The purpose of LUCRECIA is to analyse nuclear structure and use this to confirm theoretical models and make stellar predictions. The experiment is based on a Total Absorption gamma Spectrometer (TAS) designed to measure beta ray feeding.
The Miniballexperiment is a gamma-ray spectroscopy setup regularly located in the ISOLDE facility at CERN, along with other locations including GSI, Cologne, PSI and RIKEN (HiCARI). Miniball is a high-resolution germanium detector array, specifically designed to work with low-intensity radioactive ion beams post-accelerated by HIE-ISOLDE, to analyse gamma radiation emitted by short-lived nuclei. Due to six-fold detector segmentation, Miniball offers a superior Doppler-correction capability with respect to conventional gamma-ray spectrometers using unsegmented detectors. The array has been used for successful Coulomb-excitation and transfer-reaction experiments with exotic beams. Results from Miniball experiments have been used to determine and probe nuclear structure.
The Multi Ion Reflection Apparatus for Colinear Laser Spectroscopy (MIRACLS) is a permanent experiment setup being constructed at the ISOLDE facility at CERN. The purpose of the experiment is to measure properties of exotic radioisotopes, from precise measurements of their hyperfine structure. MIRACLS will use laser spectroscopy for measurements, aiming to increase the sensitivity of the technique by trapping ion bunches in an ion trap.
The Versatile Ion polarisation Technique Online (VITO) experiment is a permanent experimental setup located in the ISOLDE facility at CERN, in the form of a beamline. The purpose of the beamline is to perform a wide range of studies using spin-polarised short-lived atomic nuclei. VITO uses circularly-polarised laser light to obtain polarised radioactive beams of different isotopes delivered by ISOLDE. These have already been used for weak-interaction studies, biological investigations, and more recently nuclear structure research. The beamline is located at the site of the former Ultra High Vacuum (UHV) beamline hosting ASPIC.
The Weak Interaction Studies with 32Ar Decay (WISArD) experiment is a permanent experimental setup located in the ISOLDE facility, at CERN. The purpose of the experiment is to investigate the weak interaction by looking for beta-delayed protons emitted from a nucleus. In the absence of online isotope production during Long Shutdown 2, the experimental setup has also been used to measure the shape of the beta energy spectrum. A goal of the experiment is to search for physics beyond the Standard Model (SM) by expanding the existing limits on currents in the weak interaction.
