An on-line mass separator for fission-produced alkali isotopes

Abstract The design of an on-line mass separator installed at the TRIGA reactor in Mainz is described and its performance discussed. A tungsten oven, filled with about 2 g of 235U embedded in graphite, is exposed to a flux of 1.7 × 1011 thermal neutrons (s− cm−2) near the reactor core. After diffusion out of the graphite the fission-produced alkali isotopes are surface-ionized and electromagnetically mass-separated, the resolving power being about 750. Losses during the diffusion out of the target material are discussed. Due to these losses the maximum separator efficiency is about 5%, corresponding to a source strength of about 109 particles s−1 for the most abundant isotopes. The heaviest…

Collinear Laser Spectroscopy on Fast Atomic Beams

In collinear geometry we have observed laser-excited, narrow resonances in fast beams of Na and Cs atoms obtained from ion beams by charge transfer collisions. Being very sensitive, the method is suited for measuring isotope shifts and hyperfine structure of isotopes far from stability provided by on-line mass separators. It may be used furthermore to study inelastic charge transfer from the energy-loss spectrum of the Doppler-shifted lines.

Narrowed optical lines observed in laser method for use with accelerated beams

Determination of nuclear spins of short-lived Rb and Cs isotopes by β radiation detected optical pumping

Hyperfine shifts for cesium in Argon at high density

An optical pumping experiment was performed to obtain precise hfs shifts for Cs in Argon. The shifts measured include a term quadratic in the densityρ and a large temperature coefficient. The coefficients of the expansionδv/v0=a ρ+bρ2 area(80 °C)=−29.8(6)x10−9(Torr−1(0°C))b(80 °C)=+11(2)x10−14(Torr−2(0 °C)).

High-Resolution Spectroscopy in Fast Atomic Beams

Narrow optical resonances have been observed in fast beams of Na and Cs atoms, obtained from ion beams by charge-transfer collisions with Na, K, or Cs. Corresponding to the narrowing of the velocity distribution, occurring by acceleration, the Doppler width along the beam direction is considerably reduced [1, 2].