ISOLDE highlights and the HIE-ISOLDE project

Abstract

The ISOLDE facility has as objective the production, study and research of nuclei far from stability. Exotic nuclei of most chemical elements are available for the study of nuclear structure, nuclear astrophysics, fundamental symmetries and atomic physics, and for applications in condensed-matter and life sciences. The most recent highlights are presented. The on-going upgrade, the HIE-ISOLDE project, is discussed. HIE-ISOLDE aims to improve the ISOLDE capabilities in a wide front, from an energy increase of the post-accelerated beam to improvements in beam quality and beam purity. The first phase of HIE-ISOLDE will start for physics in the autumn of 2015 with an upgrade of energy for all post-accelerated ISOLDE beams up to 5.5 MeV/u. The proposed day-one experiments are summarized.