ISOLDE

All atoms contain a nucleus, which consists of specific numbers of protons and neutrons. The number of protons characterizes the element, while the number of neutrons determines stability against radioactive decay. The “exotic” nuclei produced at ISOLDE are so called because they are very different from stable atomic nuclei in the number of neutrons they contain. This makes them unstable and very short lived. While they do not exist on Earth, such nuclei play a major role in the life and death of stars.

The ISOLDE facility uses protons from CERN’s accelerator complex to produce exotic nuclei of most of the elements. These radioactive nuclei are used for basic research in many areas of science: nuclear physics, nuclear astrophysics, atomic physics, condensed matter physics, radiobiology, and elementary particle physics.ISOLDE belongs to a network of radioactive beam facilities in Europe that advance our knowledge of these exotic nuclei.