Abstract
β -decay spectroscopy of nuclei far from stability can provide powerful insight into a broad variety of topics in nuclear science, ranging from exotic nuclear structure phenomena, stellar nucleosynthesis processes, and applied topics such as quantifying “decay heat” discrepancies for advanced nuclear fuel cycles. Neutronrich nuclei approaching the drip-line are difficult to access experimentally, leaving many key examples largely under studied. The CARIBU radioactive beam facility at Argonne National Laboratory exploits spontaneous fission of 252 Cf in production of such beams. The X-Array and SATURN decay station have been commissioned to perform detailed decay spectroscopy of low-energy CARIBU beams. An extended science campaign was started during 2015; with projects investigating nuclear shape changes, collective octupole vibrations, β -delayed neutron emission, and decay-scheme properties which could explain the reactor antineutrino puzzle. In this article we review the current status of the setup, update on the first results and recent hardware upgrades, and look forward to future possibilities.
Highlights
In recent years, significant effort in experimental nuclear physics has been expanded to access more and more exotic regions of the nuclear chart lying far from stability
The greatest hindrance to such experiments is the diminutive production cross sections associated with radioactive ion beams (RIBs)
The CAlifornium Rare Ion Breeder Upgrade (CARIBU) is a RIB facility located at Argonne National Laboratory [7]
Summary
Significant effort in experimental nuclear physics has been expanded to access more and more exotic regions of the nuclear chart lying far from stability. At the heart of the CARIBU system is a ∼1-Ci 252Cf source This nucleus primarily α decays with a half-life of approximately 2.6 years. It possesses a spontaneous fission branch of about 3% which is exploited by CARIBU. Since 252Cf possesses greater A and Z than other actinides typically used in ISOL-based facilities, such as protonor neutron-induced fission of 235U, CARIBU beams have the potential to access unique regions of the nuclear landscape. Fission fragments extracted from the source are thermalised in a gas catcher that was developed at Argonne. They are slowed in high-purity helium gas, and a combination of DC and RF fields focus them into a lowemittance beam. The first dedicated experimental campaign to be conducted with the new setup is the focus of this article
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