Abstract
Over three and a half decades of collinear laser spectroscopy and the COLLAPS setup have played a major role in the ISOLDE physics programme. Based on a general experimental principle and diverse approaches towards higher sensitivity, it has provided unique access to basic nuclear properties such as spins, magnetic moments and electric quadrupole moments as well as isotopic variations of nuclear mean square charge radii. While previous methods of outstanding sensitivity were restricted to selected chemical elements with special atomic properties or nuclear decay modes, recent developments have yielded a breakthrough in sensitivity for nuclides in wide mass ranges. These developments include the use of bunched beams from the radiofrequency quadrupole cooler–buncher ISCOOL, which allows a suppression of background by several orders of magnitude. Very recently, the combination of collinear laser spectroscopy with the principle of laser resonance ionisation took shape in the new CRIS setup, providing a very selective and efficient detection of optical resonance. We outline the basic experimental developments and discuss important results on nuclei or chains of isotopes in different mass ranges.
Highlights
Collinear laser spectroscopy has been introduced at ISOLDE for the investigation of fundamental properties of exotic nuclei such as nuclear ground state spins, electromagnetic moments and charge radii
Depending on the atomic properties and the availability of suitable laser wavelengths these experiments can be performed on the singly-charged ions delivered by ISOLDE or on neutral atoms obtained by charge exchange when the beam passes through an alkali vapour cell
The tradition of collinear laser spectroscopy at ISOLDE goes back to 1980, when the first COLLAPS setup was completed and first successful experiments were performed on the neutron-rich barium isotopes [2, 3]
Summary
Collinear laser spectroscopy has been introduced at ISOLDE for the investigation of fundamental properties of exotic nuclei such as nuclear ground state spins, electromagnetic moments and charge radii These quantities are obtained from highresolution measurements of atomic spectral lines which exhibit hyperfine structure and isotope shift caused by the interaction of the shell electrons with the nucleus [1]. Instead of using a single narrow-band laser beam and state-selective secondary processes for the detection of optical pumping, the collinear resonance ionization method uses a second (or third) laser to further excite the level populated in the first high-resolution step to the continuum and ionize the atoms.
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