2026-07-072026-07-07http://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/204337Triggering of long-lived nuclear isomeric states via coupling to the atomic shells in the process of nuclear excitation by electron capture (NEEC) is studied. NEEC occurring in highly-charged ions can excite the isomeric state to a triggering level that subsequently decays to the ground state. We present total cross sections for NEEC isomer triggering considering experimentally confirmed low-lying triggering levels and reaction rates based on realistic experimental parameters in ion storage rings. A comparison with other isomer triggering mechanisms shows that, among these, NEEC is the most efficient.minor changes - updated to the final version; 4 pages, 1 figureNuclear TheoryAtomic Physicstext