A Novel Method for the Measurement of Half-Lives and Decay Branching Ratios of Exotic Nuclei

A novel method for simultaneous measurement of masses, Q-values, isomer excitation energies, half-lives and decay branching ratios of exotic nuclei has been demonstrated. The method includes first use of a stopping cell as an ion trap, combining containment of precursors and decay-recoils for variable durations in a cryogenic stopping cell (CSC), and afterwards the identification and counting of them by a multiple-reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometer (MR-TOF-MS). Feasibility has been established by recording the decay and growth of $^{216}$Po and $^{212}$Pb (alpha decay) and of $^{119m2}$Sb (t$_{1/2}$ = 850$\pm$90 ms) and $^{119g}$Sb (isomer transition), obtaining half-lives and bran…