Charge-state distribution of Li ions from the $\beta$ decay of laser-trapped $^{6}$He atoms

Understand

Background: The accurate determination of atomic final states following nuclear $\beta$ decay plays an important role in many experiments.

• In particular, the charge state distributions of ions following nuclear $\beta$ decay are important for determinations of the $\beta-\nu$ angular correlation with improved precision.
• Purpose: Our measurement aims at providing benchmarks to test theoretical calculations.
• Method: The kinematics of Li$^{n+}$ ions produced following the $\beta$ decay of $^6{\rm He}$ within an electric field were measured using $^6{\rm He}$ atoms in the metastable $(1s2s,~{^3S_1})$ and in the $(1s2p,~{^3P_2})$ states confined by a magneto-optical trap.