We have developed two high efficiency trap, one for neon isotopes, based on a combinations of lasers and magnetic fields (a Magneto-Optical Trap, MOT), and an ion trap which trap a moving bunch of ions and may be applied to any atom species (an Electrostatic Ion Beam Trap, EIBT). These two trap were installed in a newly constructed isotope production complex (constructed specifically for this project) at the Soreq Nuclear Research Center’s new accelerator facility. This lab complex now represents the only such facility in the world where two completely different experimental setups are probing the same decay physics, which will provide for a crucial cross check of the final results. Additionally, the EIBT is the only such setup of its king in the world dedicated to radioactive decay studies.
We have demonstrated trapping of stable species (neon in the MOT and helium in the EIBT) and have used the MOT to perform a series of ground breaking experiments in cold chemistry on neon atoms, which have proven that our system is able to reach the required precision for the final experiment using radioactive neon atoms. We have integrated, for the first time ever, a Velocity-Map-Imaging setup into a magneto optical trap, and have used this new experimental tool to measure the interactions of cold neon atoms. This measurement accesses a so far experimentally unmeasured regime.
We have also developed and demonstrated a production scheme for our first two isotopes of interest, 23Ne and 6He, using the Soreq Applied Research Accelerator Facility, and have proven that the required isotopes may be produced at the required quantity for our experiment to provide high precision results. Using this newly developed method we have measured to a precision better by an order of magnitude than previous measurement the beta branching ratio of 23Ne to the first excited state. This measurement is crucial since it is required for the extraction of the beta neutrino coefficient in the decay. Using this newly measured ratio, we have performed a reanalysis of existing data (taken in 1963) on the decay of 23Ne, this reanalysis has allowed us to extract the beta neutrino coefficient (and the Fierz term) to a precision which rivals the world's best such measurement, paving the way for an even better measurement in the future. Notably, in the new analysis. modern theoretical tools were used that allowed, for the first time ever, to assign a theory uncertainty to some of the corrections to the measurement, a feat which is crucial for the next generation of high precision measurements.
On the theory side, we have suggested and published a novel scheme to test for Beyond Standard Model physics in a particular type of radioactive decay terms “unique first forbidden decays”. We are now developing this idea into an experimental proposal. Additionally, we have made significant progress in the calculation on the so called “recoil-order corrections”, which are required for the full analysis of the experiments, the new calculations will, when completed, represent the world’s best such calculations, and will allow us to push the limit of our precision further.
