New Accelerator Facility for Measurements of Nuclear Reactions at Energies Below 1 keV

For certain combinations of protons and neutrons, there is a theoretical expectation that the shape of nuclei can assume octupole deformation, which would give rise to reflection asymmetry or a "pear shape" in the intrinsic frame, either dynamically (octupole vibrations) or statically (permanent octupole deformation).In this paper, I will briefly review the historic evidence for reflection asymmetry in nuclei, describe how recent experiments carried out at REX-ISOLDE are constraining nuclear theory and how they contribute to tests of extensions of the Standard Model, and look at future prospects for this field.