  Several modes of electroweak radioactive decay require an interaction between
the nucleus and bound electrons within the constituent atom. Thus, the
probabilities of the respective decays are not only influenced by the structure
of the initial and final states in the nucleus, but can also depend strongly on
the atomic charge. Conditions suitable for the partial or complete ionization
of these rare isotopes occur naturally in hot, dense astrophysical
environments, but can also be artificially generated in the laboratory to
selectively block certain radioactive decay modes. Direct experimental studies
on such scenarios are extremely difficult due to the laboratory conditions
required to generate and store radioactive ions at high charge states. A new
electron-beam ion trap (EBIT) decay setup with the TITAN experiment at TRIUMF
has successfully demonstrated such techniques for performing spectroscopy on
the radioactive decay of highly charged ions.
