Dr. Zhao-Feng Wan (right) and Ph.D. student Jia-Wei Liang (left) of USTC are inspecting the laser system of the atom-trap instrument. Credit: Wei Jiang. The detection and study of isotopes, atoms of the same element that have different numbers of neutrons, could expand the scope of physics research and enable new scientific discoveries. So far, rare isotopes have been primarily detected using a technique known as accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS), which accelerates atoms, to then measure their mass and charge. Despite its widespread use, AMS is not always precise at the ultra-rare level, as it is susceptible to what is known as background interference. This essentially means that similar atoms or neighboring isotopes can produce misleading signals that reduce the accuracy and precision of measurements.…