We report on the measurement of the ^{7}Be(n,p)^{7}Li cross section from thermal to approximately 325 keV neutron energy, performed in the high-flux experimental area (EAR2) of the n_TOF facility at CERN. This reaction plays a key role in the lithium yield of the big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) for standard cosmology. The only two previous time-of-flight measurements performed on this reaction did not cover the energy window of interest for BBN, and they showed a large discrepancy between each other. The measurement was performed with a Si telescope and a high-purity sample produced by implantation of a ^{7}Be ion beam at the ISOLDE facility at CERN. While a significantly higher cross section is found at low energy, relative to current evaluations, in the region of BBN interest, the present results are consistent with the values inferred from the time-reversal ^{7}Li(p,n)^{7}Be reaction, thus yielding only a relatively minor improvement on the so-called cosmological lithium problem. The relevance of these results on the near-threshold neutron production in the p+^{7}Li reaction is also discussed.

Time differential perturbed angular correlation (TDPAC) of γ-rays spectroscopy has been applied in chemistry and biochemistry for decades. Herein we aim to present a comprehensive review of chemical and biochemical applications of TDPAC spectroscopy conducted at ISOLDE over the past 15 years, including elucidation of metal site structure and dynamics in proteins and model systems. β-NMR spectroscopy is well established in nuclear physics, solid state physics, and materials science, but only a limited number of applications in chemistry have appeared. Current endeavors at ISOLDE advancing applications of β-NMR towards chemistry and biochemistry are presented, including the first experiment on 31Mg2+ in an ionic liquid solution. Both techniques require the production of radioisotopes combined with advanced spectroscopic instrumentation present at ISOLDE.

Intracellular CuI is controlled by the transcriptional regulator CueR, which effectively discriminates between monovalent and divalent metal ions. It is intriguing that HgII does not activate transcription, as bis‐thiolate metal sites exhibit high affinity for HgII. Here the binding of HgII to CueR and a truncated variant, ΔC7‐CueR, without the last 7 amino acids at the C‐terminus including a conserved CCHH motif is explored. ESI‐MS demonstrates that up to two HgII bind to CueR, while ΔC7‐CueR accommodates only one HgII. 199mHg PAC and UV absorption spectroscopy indicate HgS2 structure at both the functional and the CCHH metal site. However, at sub‐equimolar concentrations of HgII at pH 8.0, the metal binding site displays an equilibrium between HgS2 and HgS3, involving cysteines from both sites. We hypothesize that the C‐terminal CCHH motif provides auxiliary ligands that coordinate to HgII and thereby prevents activation of transcription.

Solid state physics (SSP) research at ISOLDE has been running since the mid-1970s and accounts for about 10%–15% of the overall physics programme. ISOLDE is the world flagship for the on-line production of exotic radioactive isotopes, with high yields, high elemental selectivity and isotopic purity. Consequently, it hosts a panoply of state-of-the-art nuclear techniques which apply nuclear methods to research on life sciences, material science and bio-chemical physics. The ease of detecting radioactivity—<1 ppm concentrations—is one of the features which distinguishes the use of radioisotopes for materials science research. The manner in which nuclear momenta of excited nuclear states interact with their local electronic and magnetic environment, or how charged emitted particles interact with the crystalline lattices allow the determination of the location, its action and the role of the selected impurity element at the nanoscopic state. ISOLDE offers an unrivalled range of available radioactive elements and this is attracting an increasing user community in the field of nuclear SSP research and brings together a community of materials scientists and specialists in nuclear solid state techniques. This article describes the current status of this programme along with recent illustrative results, predicting a bright future for these unique research methods and collaborations.

Following the completion of the second neutron beam line and the related experimental area (EAR2) at the n_TOF spallation neutron source at CERN, several experiments were planned and performed. The high instantaneous neutron flux available in EAR2 allows to investigate neutron indiced reactions with charged particles in the exit channel even employing targets made out of small amounts of short-lived radioactive isotopes. After the successful measurement of the 7 Be(n,α)α cross section, the 7 Be(n,p) 7 Li reaction was studied in order to provide still missing cross section data of relevance for Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN), in an attempt to find a solution to the cosmological Lithium abundance problem. This paper describes the experimental setup employed in such a measurement and its characterization.

2015 2 À Katherine, à Elizabete, ao Ingo e à Carmen, 117 Cd( 117 In) no Isotope Mass Separator On-Line (ISOLDE) do Centre Européen Recherche Nucléaire (CERN). As medidas foram realizadas nos intervalos de temperatura de 8 K a 1173 K. Para análise de ferromagnetismo, medidas foram feitas à temperatura ambiente com e sem aplicação de campo magnético externo. Após a comparação dos resultados das medidas macroscópicas e atômicas das amostras, foi possível concluir que há uma correlação entre os defeitos, o magnetismo e a mobilidade dos portadores de carga nos semicondutores aqui estudados. Um passo adiante na busca de semicondutores, cujo ordenamento magnético possibilite o seu uso na eletrônica baseada em spin. Alguns resultados já foram publicados, incluindo resultados obtidos na Universidade de Bonn durante o período de doutorado sanduíche [1-7]. 6 ABSTRACT This study aimed the use of nuclear technique Perturbed γ-γ Angular Correlation Spectroccopy (PAC) to measure the hyperfine interactions in thin films and powder samples of SnO 2 and TiO 2 pure and doped with transition metals to obtain a systematic investigation of defects and magnetism from an atomic point of view with the main motivation the application in spintronics. The work also focused on the preparation and characterization of samples by conventional techniques such as X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy and magnetization measurements. Pure samples of the films were measured by the systematic variation of thermal treatment and applied magnetic field. These measurements were performed in HISKP at the University of Bonn (Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) using 111 In( 111 Cd) or 181 Hf ( 181 Ta); at IPEN, in turn, these measurements were performed after the diffusion of the same probe nuclei. Another part of PAC measurements were carried out using 111m Cd( 111 Cd) and 117 Cd ( 117 In) in Isotope Mass Separator On-Line (ISOLDE) at Centre Européen Recherche Nucléaire (CERN). The measurements were performed from 8 K to 1173 K. After comparing results from macroscopic techniques with those from PAC, it wasconcluded that there is a correlation between the defects, magnetism and the mobility of charge carriers in semiconductors studied here. A step forward in the search for semiconductors, whose magnetic ordering allows its use in electronics based on spin.Some results have been published, including results obtained at the University of Bonn for the sandwich doctorate period [1][2][3][4][5][6][7].

The 7 Be(n, p) cross section was measured with an ion-implanted 7 Be target at a thermal neutron beam of the research reactor LVR-15 inŘež. The cross section to the ground state of 7 Li is σ (n, p 0 ) = 43800 ± 1400 b and the cross section to the first excited state of 7 Li is σ (n, p 1 ) = 520 ± 260 b.

The idea that “new-is-small” is a paradigm propelling industries and research: new materials for new applications and new technologies. Precise and efficient characterization techniques are, therefore, required to make the “new” and the “small”, understandable, applicable, and reliable. Within this concept, Time Differential Perturbed Angular Correlations, TDPAC, appears as one of the most exotic and efficient techniques to characterize materials and is celebrating 40 years at ISOLDE, CERN. In this overview we explore the TDPAC measurement possibilities at ISOLDE-CERN for solid state physics research with a rich potential due to the wide number of available radioactive probe elements, delivered with great purity and high yield.