Abstract
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 t > 10 μs will reveal key features of nuclear structure and nuclear astrophysics, extending, for example, to r-process waiting-point nuclides in the Pb region. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.