The Isotope Separator On-Line facility (ISOLDE) directs a proton beam from the Proton Synchrotron Booster (PSB) onto specially developed thick targets, producing low-energy beams of radioactive nuclei—those with too many or too few neutrons to be stable. These beams can be further accelerated to energies of up to 10 MeV per nucleon using the HIE-ISOLDE linear accelerator, enabling a wide range of studies.

The HIE-ISOLDE beams are sent to three experimental stations: the Miniball array of high-purity germanium gamma-ray detectors, the ISOLDE solenoid spectrometer (ISS), which repurposed a former MRI magnet, and the scattering experimental chamber (SEC), used for a broad variety of physics experiments. Since its first experiment in October 2015, HIE-ISOLDE has been pushing back the boundaries of nuclear physics. To celebrate its 10th anniversary, we look back at 10 key achievements that have defined its first decade.