GEANT4 simulations of beta-delayed particle emission of Beryllium 11 in a linear Paul trap

Abstract

The phenomenon of nuclear halos occurs when the matter radius of near-dripline nuclei are extended due to very weakly bound neutrons (or protons). If the Q-value of the $\beta$ decay is greater than the separation energy of the outermost nucleon, the nucleon may be emitted separately from the core. One very unique case of $\beta$-delayed particle emission is $^{11}$Be as its branching ratio to the exotic states is greater than expected as a result of a nonspherical deformation in its core, $^{10}$Be. The newly proposed BeTrap, a linear Paul trap specially designed for Beryllium decay, was constructed in the simulation toolkit, GEANT4. The input parameters of the decay particles were determined by the decay rate equation developed in ref \cite{ref:decay_rate} which functions to ensure triple correlation between the $\beta$ particle, neutrino and emitted particle. This thesis provides verification of the differentiation of the time-of-flight difference profiles of the $\beta$ and $\beta$-delayed channels. Additionally, this work determines the influence of the ion cloud size on the detected difference in hit positions and the parameters of a kinematic cut to suppress the background coincidences. This work provides the foundation for future experimental expectations.