The ILIMA project at FAIR

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload high-quality image (97 K)Download as PowerPoint slideHighlights•We present the prospects for rare-isotope storage-ring measurements at FAIR.•A summary of present storage-ring capabilities is presented.•Access to the most exotic nuclides is provided using projectile fragmentation.•Masses and decay modes can be determined for highly-charged single ions.•Novel interactions at the atomic–nuclear interface are discussed.

The Isomeric beams, LIfetimes and MAsses (ILIMA) collaboration will exploit heavy-ion storage rings at the Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) for the study of exotic nuclei. Single-ion sensitivity and exceptional production rates of bare or few-electron radioactive ions, with atomic numbers up to Z = 92, promise access to a wide range of short-lived nuclides for the first time. Measuring the masses, lifetimes and decay modes of ground and isomeric states with t1/2 > 10 μs will reveal key features of nuclear structure and nuclear astrophysics, extending, for example, to r-process waiting-point nuclides in the 208Pb region.