Fast-ion-beam laser probing of ion-source energy distributions and atomic structure

Abstract

Collinear fast-ion-beam laser spectroscopy is a very high resolution probe for measuring ion-beam energy distributions and atomic structure parameters of interest in nuclear physics, atomic physics, and astrophysics. We have used offline 10-keV beams of atomic ions and a CW laser system to study the behavior of a Penning ion source and to measure hyperfine structure, isotope shifts, atomic lifetimes, spontaneous-emission branching fractions, oscillator strengths, and absolute wavelengths of a variety of atomic species from the lanthanide and transition-metal groups.