Publication Date:
2014-10-22
Description:
We demonstrate a new technique to prepare an offline source of francium for trapping in a magneto-optical trap. Implanting a radioactive beam of 225 Ac, t 1/2 = 9.920(3) days, in a foil, allows use of the decay products, i.e. 221 Fr, t 1/2 = 288.0(4) s. 221 Fr is ejected from the foil by the α decay of 225 Ac. This technique is compatible with the online accumulation of a laser-cooled atomic francium sample for a series of planned parity non-conservation measurements at TRIUMF. We obtain a 34 % release efficiency for 221 Fr from the recoil source based on particle detector measurements. We find that laser cooling operation with the source is 8 +10 -5 times less efficient than from a mass-separated ion beam of 221 Fr in the current geometry. While the flux of this source is two to three orders of magnitude lower than typical francium beams from ISOL facilities, the sou...
Electronic ISSN:
1748-0221
Topics:
Physics