Beta decay of highly charged ions

A brief overview is presented in this paper on some experiments conducted at the Experimental Storage Ring (ESR) of GSI which addressed the β decay of stored and cooled highly charged ions. Special emphasis is placed on the two-body beta decay of bare or few-electron ions: bound-state β− decay (βb) and its time-mirrored counterpart, orbital electron capture. The former decay mode was detected experimentally 20 years ago at the ESR. The latter could be investigated there for the first time in detail for the simplest quantum systems: hydrogen- and helium-like atoms. The main results of these experiments will be presented. Also their impact on stellar nucleosynthesis, in particular the s-process, is discussed. (paper)