Heavy-Ion Storage Rings

Abstract

In heavy-ion atomic physics, fast beams, with energies ranging from keV up to the relativistic regime, are widely used. A new generation of atomic physics experiments with fast-ion beams has become possible at heavy-ion stor age rings, machines similar to synchrotron accelerators, but mostly used for ring internal experiments at fixed, moderate ion energies. At these storage rings, a central role is played by phase-space cooling techniques, such as electron cooling and laser cooling, ensuring low divergence, low momentum spread, and a small size of the circulating beam. The possibility of ion-beam accumulation by phase-space cooling also brings a large gain in beam intensity and makes feasible new types of experiments in areas such as ion-electron and ion-laser interactions. The chapter discusses the principles of ion storage rings with emphasis on cooling techniques and on the performance of these machines in atomic physics experiments. Existing heavy-ion storage rings are presented and the typical instrumentation for some classes of atomic physics experiments at these devices is discussed.