0000000000139432
AUTHOR
I. Klaft
Measurement of the transverse Doppler shift using a stored relativistic7Li+ ion beam
We have performed for the first time precision spectroscopy on a coasting fast7Li+ ion beam in a storage ring. The ion beam moving with 6.4% speed of light was first electron cooled and then merged with two counterpropagating laser beams acting on two different hyperfine transitions sharing a common upper level (λ-system). One laser was frequency locked to thea 3 127J2 hfs frequency component established as a secondary frequency standard at 514 nm. The second laser was tuned over theλ-resonance, which was recorded relative to127J2 hfs components. This experiment is sensitive to the time dilation in fast moving frames and will lead to new limits for the verification of special relatively. Th…
Hydrogen-like bismuth
Atomic physics at heavy ion storage rings allows to study matter in an extreme ionization state and at very high velocity. The concept of electron cooling yields an ion beam with epithermal temperatures, which is suited for many precision experiments. At the ESR even the heaviest elements can be stored up to the fully stripped charge state. The H-like ions with nuclear spin exhibit a groundstate hfs-splitting in the optical region. This can be used as a probe for QED at high Z and magnetization inside the nucleus. The topics related to cooling of ions and laser spectroscopy in a storage ring are reported and a first result of the 1s hfs in 209Bi82+ is discussed for the relevance in testing …
A test of special relativity with stored lithium ions
Laser spectroscopy at the heavy ion storage ring TSR in Heidelberg allows for precision experiments testing the limits of the special theory of relativity. With an opticalΛ-type three-level system of7Li+ the Doppler shift has been measured by saturation spectroscopy as a test of the time dilatation factor γ = (1 −β2)−1/2 at an ion velocity ofυ = 6.4% c. A precision ofΔν/ν < 9 × 10−9 has been obtained, which sets a second-order limit of 1.1 × 10−6 for any deviation from the time dilatation factor. The fourth-order limit of this deviation is set below 2.7 × 10−4 by the present experiment. These limits are given at a 1 σ confidence level.
Laser-stimulated two-step recombination of highly charged ions and electrons in a storage ring
Two-step resonant laser-stimulated recombination of highly charged ions was performed for the first time. Nd:YAG laser pulses overlapped with an Ar[sup 18+] beam in the electron cooler of the ESR storage ring at GSI induced transitions from the continuum to the [ital n]=81 state of hydrogenlike Ar[sup 17+]. To avoid reionization in the bending magnet before reaching the detector, the [ital n]=81 population was transferred to a state well below the reionization threshold by a Ti:sapphire laser. Tuning of this laser yielded the [ital n]=81 to 36 and 37 transition-line profiles. The two-step method provides access to detailed Rydberg spectroscopy in an electron beam environment.
LASER SPECTROSCOPY WITH A COOLER RING AT THE ESR (GSI) AND THE TSR (MPI HEIDELBERG)
At the TSR cooler ring at Heidelberg, laser studies were carried out using singly charged lithium and beryllium ions. Laser spectroscopy of relativistic lithium ions (v=0.04c) yielded signals with a narrow linewidth, suitable for an experimental test of special relativity. A dramatic reduction of the beam temperature, as defined by the longitudinal velocity spread, was achieved via laser cooling in both cases. At the ion energies available at ESR it will become possible to prepare and store bare ions up to U92+. Electron cooling was succesfully demonstrated for hydrogen-like Bi82+ ions, where a laser experiment is scheduled to study the ground-state hyperfine splitting.
Precision Laser Spectroscopy of the Ground State Hyperfine Splitting of HydrogenlikeBi82+209
The first direct observation of a hyperfine splitting in the optical regime is reported. The wavelength of the $M1$ transition between the $F=4$ and $F=5$ hyperfine levels of the ground state of hydrogenlike $^{209}\mathrm{Bi}^{82+}$ was measured to be ${\ensuremath{\lambda}}_{0}=243.87(4)$ nm by detection of laser induced fluorescence at the heavy-ion storage ring ESR at GSI. In addition, the lifetime of the laser excited $F=5$ sublevel was determined to be ${\ensuremath{\tau}}_{0}=0.351(16)$ ms. The method can be applied to a number of other nuclei and should allow a novel test of QED corrections in the previously unexplored combination of strong magnetic and electric fields in highly cha…
Hyperfine measurements in a storage ring
Starting with a look at the outstanding role of the hydrogen atom in modern physics, this work reviews aspects of an extension of precision spectroscopy to the ground-state hyperfine structure of highly charged hydrogenic ions. In this connection, the preferences of heavy-ion storage rings are outlined and illuminated by the laser-spectroscopic measurement (the first of that kind) of the 1s hyperfine splitting of 209Bi82+, stored in the heavy-ion storage ring at GSI. The experimental results, including the mean lifetime of the upper 1s substate, are compared with the presently available theoretical calculations. The relevance of studying further hydrogenicc ions in the vicinity of the doubl…