https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/202327906007
A new approach to β-decays studies impacting nuclear physics and astrophysics: The PANDORA setup
1 National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN), Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, 95123 Catania, Italy
2 National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN), Sez. di Perugia, 06123 Perugia, Italy
3 Department of Physics and Geology, University of Perugia, 06123 Perugia, Italy
4 National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN), Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro, 35020, Italy
5 National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN), Sez. di Bologna, 40127 Bologna, Italy
6 Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), 40129 Bologna, Italy
7 Institute for Nuclear Research (ATOMKI), 4026 Debrecen, Hungary
8 Trento Institute for Fundamental Physics and Applications, TIFPA-INFN, 38123 Trento, Italy
9 European Centre for Theoretical Studies in Nuclear Physics and Related Areas, Fondazione Bruno Kessler, 38123 Trento, Italy
10 Faculty of Applied Physics and Mathematics, Gdańsk University of Technology, Gdańsk, Poland
* Corresponding author: davidmascali@lns.infn.it
Published online: 22 March 2023
Theory predicts that lifetimes of β-radionuclides can change dramatically as a function of their ionization state. Experiments performed in Storage Rings on highly ionized atom have proven nuclei can change their beta decay lifetime up to several orders of magnitude. The PANDORA (Plasmas for Astrophysics, Nuclear Decay Observation and Radiation for Archaeometry) experiment is now conceived to measure, for the first time, nuclear β-decay rates using magnetized laboratory plasma that can mimic selected stellar-like conditions in terms of the temperature of the environment. The main feature of the setup which is based on a plasma trap to create and sustain the plasma, a detector array for the measurement of the gamma-rays emitted by the daughter nuclei after the decay process and the diagnostic tools developed to online monitor the plasma will be presented. A short list of the physics cases we plan to investigate together with an evaluation of their feasibility will be also discussed.
© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2023
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
