Progress towards the Single Atom Microscope: measuring rare-reaction rates for nuclear astrophysics

Abstract:  We propose a new method for measuring the rate of rare nuclear reactions by capturing the heavier atomic products in a noble gas solid. Once embedded in the transparent noble gas matrix, the products are selectively identified via laser fluorescence spectroscopy and individually counted via optical imaging to determine the reaction rate. Single atom sensitivity is feasible due to the noble gas matrix facilitating a Stokes shift between the emission and excitation spectrum of the product atoms, granting the possibility to carefully filter out the excitation light. The combination of a recoil separator for isotopic selectivity and reduction of beam induced heat load, and the tools and techniques from the fields of single molecule spectroscopy and superresolution imaging allows for a detecting scheme with near unity efficiency, a high degree of selectivity, and single atom sensitivity. The Single Atom Microscope could be used to measure a number of astrophysically relevant nuclear reaction rates.