Ion detection from beta decay and two-body decay experiments with laser-cooled atoms

Abstract

Localized and cold samples of atoms produced with laser cooling and trapping techniques are a powerful tool for nuclear β-decay experiments. Recently we have concentrated on measurements of the momentum of the daughter ion produced, which leads to a variety of new observables. Angular distributions of the recoils with respect to the nuclear spin in β + decay are sensitive to non-standard model interactions. Measurements of the momentum of monoenergetic recoils from either electron capture or isomer γ decay would make it possible to search for particles with masses of 10s of keV.