Valentin Fedosseev

Resonance laser ionization of atoms for nuclear physics

The applications of the laser resonance ionization method in nuclear research are reviewed. Investigation of radioactive isotopes using resonance ionization techniques provides a valuable combination of high selectivity, efficiency and spectral resolution. The majority of radioactive ion beams produced at on-line isotope separator facilities profit from the selectivity and universal applicability of laser ion sources. Numerous ultra-sensitive and high-resolution techniques of laser spectroscopy based on resonance ionization of atoms have been developed for the study of rare and radioactive isotopes. A summary of ionization schemes applied to radioactive isotopes is given in table form.

Measurement of the first ionization potential of astatine by laser ionization spectroscopy

The radioactive element astatine exists only in trace amounts in nature. Its properties can therefore only be explored by study of the minute quantities of artificially produced isotopes or by performing theoretical calculations. One of the most important properties influencing the chemical behaviour is the energy required to remove one electron from the valence shell, referred to as the ionization potential. Here we use laser spectroscopy to probe the optical spectrum of astatine near the ionization threshold. The observed series of Rydberg states enabled the first determination of the ionization potential of the astatine atom, 9.31751(8) eV. New ab initio calculations are performed to support the experimental result. The measured value serves as a benchmark for quantum chemistry calculations of the properties of astatine as well as for the theoretical prediction of the ionization potential of superheavy element 117, the heaviest homologue of astatine.

AWAKE, The Advanced Proton Driven Plasma Wakefield Acceleration Experiment at CERN

The Advanced Proton Driven Plasma Wakefield Acceleration Experiment (AWAKE) aims at studying plasma wakefield generation and electron acceleration driven by proton bunches. It is a proof-of-principle R&D experiment at CERN and the world׳s first proton driven plasma wakefield acceleration experiment. The AWAKE experiment will be installed in the former CNGS facility and uses the 400 GeV/c proton beam bunches from the SPS. The first experiments will focus on the self-modulation instability of the long (rms ~12 cm) proton bunch in the plasma. These experiments are planned for the end of 2016. Later, in 2017/2018, low energy (~15 MeV) electrons will be externally injected into the sample wakefields and be accelerated beyond 1 GeV. The main goals of the experiment will be summarized. A summary of the AWAKE design and construction status will be presented.

Use of a Continuous Wave Laser and Pockels Cell for Sensitive High-Resolution Collinear Resonance Ionization Spectroscopy.

New technical developments have led to a 2 orders of magnitude improvement of the resolution of the collinear resonance ionization spectroscopy (CRIS) experiment at ISOLDE, CERN, without sacrificing the high efficiency of the CRIS technique. Experimental linewidths of 20(1) MHz were obtained on radioactive beams of francium, allowing us for the first time to determine the electric quadrupole moment of the short lived [t_{1/2}=22.0(5) ms] ^{219}Fr Q_{s}=-1.21(2) eb, which would not have been possible without the advantages offered by the new method. This method relies on a continuous-wave laser and an external Pockels cell to produce narrow-band light pulses, required to reach the high resolution in two-step resonance ionization. Exotic nuclei produced at rates of a few hundred ions/s can now be studied with high resolution, allowing detailed studies of the anchor points for nuclear theories.

Alkali suppression within laser ion-source cavities and time structure of the laser ionized ion-bunches

Abstract The chemical selectivity of the target and ion-source production system is an asset for radioactive ion-beam (RIB) facilities equipped with mass separators. Ionization via laser induced multiple resonant steps has such selectivity. However, the selectivity of the ISOLDE resonant ionization laser ion-source (RILIS), where ionization takes place within high temperature refractory metal cavities, suffers from unwanted surface ionization of low ionization potential alkalis. In order to reduce this type of isobaric contaminant, surface ionization within the target vessel was used. On-line measurements of the efficiency of this method is reported, suppression factors of alkalis up to an order of magnitude were measured as a function of their ionization potential. The time distribution of the ion-bunches produced with the RILIS was measured for a variety of elements and high temperature cavity materials. While all ions are produced within a few nanoseconds, the ion-bunch sometimes spreads over more than 100 μs. This demonstrates that ions are confined within high temperature metallic cavities. It is the internal electrical field of these cavities that causes the ions to drifts to the extraction region and defines the dwell time of the ions in the cavity. Beam optics calculations were carried out to simulate the pulse shape of a RILIS ion-bunch and are compared to the actual measurements.

Structure of 191Pb from α- and β-decay spectroscopy

Complementary studies of Pb-191 have been made in the beta decay of Bi-191 at LISOL (CRC) and in the alpha decay of Po-195 at ISOLDE (CERN). Fine structures in the alpha decay of the low-spin and h ...

Shapes of Pb-192,Pb-190 ground states from beta-decay studies using the total-absorption technique

8 pags.; 5 figs.; 2 tabs.; PACS number(s): 23.40.Hc, 27.80.+w, 29.30.Kv; Open Access funded by Creative Commons Atribution Licence 3.0

High-power UV light generation in picosecond pulse trains

This paper focuses on the investigation of detrimental UV induced effects during fourth harmonic generation (FHG) in BBO crystals. An accumulation of partly recoverable UV two-photon induced optical defects has been observed in the 140 s train generated by frequency quadrupled 1.5 GHz Nd:YLF laser with about 300 W UV power per train, even for a relatively low peak pulse intensity of about 100 MW/cm2. BBO crystals with length of 4.2, 8.5 and 12 mm have been tested. In a shorter crystal less distortion have been observed for the same UV output power. Although the growth of optical defects is attributed to the UV two-photon absorption, the already accumulated defects lead to a linear absorption of green and UV co-propagating pulses which in turn results in train envelope degradation due to deterioration of a phase-matching and thermal beam distortion. The UV beam exhibited focusing behavior on a short distance (crystal length) which cannot be explained by temperature dependence of BBO refractive indexes. The UV beam focusing is addressed as a strong photo-elastic effect, caused by the stress induced by essentially non-uniform temperature distribution inside the beam propagation volume.

Coulomb excitation of 68/28Ni40 at "safe" energies

The B(E2;0+2+) value in 68Ni has been measured using Coulomb excitation at safe energies. The 68Ni radioactive beam was postaccelerated at the CERN on-line isotope mass separator (ISOLDE) facility to 2.9 MeV/u and directed to a 108Pd target. The emitted rays were detected by the MINIBALL detector array. Not only directly registered but also indirectly deduced information on the nucleus emitting the ray was used to perform the Doppler correction, leading to a larger center-of-mass angular range to infer the excitation cross section. The obtained value of 2.8×102e2 fm4 is in good agreement with the value measured at intermediate energy Coulomb excitation, confirming the low 0+2+ transition probability.

Coulomb Excitation of Neutron-Rich Zn Isotopes: First Observation of the 2[sub 1][sup +] State in [sup 80]Zn

Neutron-rich, radioactive Zn isotopes were investigated at the Radioactive Ion Beam facility REX-ISOLDE (CERN) using low-energy Coulomb excitation. The energy of the 2(1)+ state in 78Zn could be firmly established and for the first time the 2+ --> 0(1)+ transition in 80Zn was observed at 1492(1) keV. B(E2,2(1)+ --> 0(1)+) values were extracted for (74,76,78,80)Zn and compared to large scale shell model calculations. With only two protons outside the Z=28 proton core, 80Zn is the lightest N=50 isotone for which spectroscopic information has been obtained to date. Two sets of advanced shell model calculations reproduce the observed B(E2) systematics. The results for N=50 isotones indicate a good N=50 shell closure and a strong Z=28 proton core polarization. The new results serve as benchmarks to establish theoretical models, predicting the nuclear properties of the doubly magic nucleus 78Ni.