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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Towards Laser Spectroscopy of Superheavy Elements

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The sensitivity of laser spectroscopic methods has been increased over the past two decades dramatically so that today the spectroscopy of superheavy elements appears on the horizon as a realistic option. For elements with Z > 100 no experimental atomic or ionic level structure information is known so far. These elements cannot be bread in high flux nuclear power reactors via successive neutron capture and \(\beta ^-\) decay but must be produced in accelerator-based nuclear fusion-evaporation reactions. Laser spectroscopic investigations at low rates take advantage of the storage of ions or atoms in rare gas traps. A first successful experiment was conducted only recently for the element nobelium with the atomic number Z = 102 behind the velocity filter SHIP at GSI in Darmstadt, Germany, applying the RAdioactive decay Detected Resonance Ionization Spectroscopy (RADRIS) method. The discovery of the \(7s^2~^1S_0\) \(\rightarrow \) \(7s\,7p~^1P_1\) optical transition opens up the possibility to measure the ionization potential, isotope shifts, or even the hyperfine splitting for \(^{252,253,254}\)No isotopes. The high precision of laser spectroscopic methods is a challenge for state-of-the-art relativistic many body calculations of the level structure.