Laboratory simulation of cometary x rays using a high-resolution microcalorimeter

X-ray emission following charge exchange has been studied on the University of California Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory electron beam ion traps EBIT-I and EBIT-II using a high-resolution microcalorimeter. The measured spectra include the K-shell emission from hydrogenlike and heliumlike C, N, O, and Ne needed for simulations of cometary x-ray emission. A comparison of the spectra produced in the interaction of O8+ with N2 and CH4 is presented that illustrates the dependence of the observed spectrum on the interaction gas.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figure

Assessment of an ORION-based experimental platform for measuring the opacity of high-temperature and high-density plasma

The following provides an assessment of an experimental platform based on the ORION laser at AWE Aldermasten, England, for measuring the opacity of high-temperature and high-density LTE plasmas. The specific points addressed are (1) the range of electron density and temperature that can be achieved with short-pulse beams alone, as well as (2) by means of compression with a long-pulse beam; (3) the accuracy with which electron density, electron temperature, and absolute emissivity can be measured; (4) the use of pulse shaping to increase the sample density to above solid density; (5) the effect that target materials and target design have on maintaining spatial uniformity of the sample, and (6) the need for additional diagnostics to produce and characterize samples for decisive measurements

Experiments with highly charged ions up to bare U{sup 92+} on the electron beam ion trap

An overview is given of the current experimental effort to investigate the level structure of highly charged ions with the Livermore electron beam ion trap (EBIT) facility. The facility allows the production and study of virtually any ionization state of any element up to bare U{sup 92+}. Precision spectroscopic measurements have been performed for a range of {Delta}n = 0 and {Delta}n = 1 transitions. Examples involving 3-4 and 2-3 as well as 3-3 and 2-2 transitions in uranium ions are discussed that illustrated some of the measurement and analysis techniques employed. The measurements have allowed tests of calculations of the the quantum electrodynamical contributions to the transitions energies at the 0.4% level in a regime where (Z{alpha}) {approx} 1

Multipole (E1, M1, E2, M2, E3, M3) transition wavelengths and rates between 3l5l' excited and ground states in nickel-like ions

A relativistic many-body method is developed to calculate energy and transition rates for multipole transitions in many-electron ions. This method is based on relativistic many-body perturbation theory (RMBPT), agrees with MCDF calculations in lowest-order, includes all second-order correlation corrections and includes corrections from negative energy states. Reduced matrix elements, oscillator strengths, and transition rates are calculated for electric-multipole (dipole (E1), quadrupole (E2), and octupole (E3)) and magnetic-multipole (dipole (M1), quadrupole (M2), and octupole (M3)) transitions between 3l5l' excited and ground states in Ni-like ions with nuclear charges ranging from Z = 30 to 100. The calculations start from a 1s22s22p63s23p63d10} Dirac-Fock potential. First-order perturbation theory is used to obtain intermediate-coupling coefficients, and second-order RMBPT is used to determine the matrix elements. A detailed discussion of the various contributions to the dipole matrix elements and energy levels is given for nickellike tungsten (Z = 74). The contributions from negative-energy states are included in the second-order E1, M1, E2 M2, E3, and M3 matrix elements. The resulting transition energies and transition rates are compared with experimental values and with results from other recent calculations. These atomic data are important in modeling of M-shell radiation spectra of heavy ions generated in electron beam ion trap experiments and in M-shell diagnostics of plasmas.Comment: 21 pages, 8 figures, 11 table

QED and electron collisions in the super strong fields of K-shell actinide ions

Atomic physics of high-Z, heavy ions is very different from that encountered in low-Z or medium-Z ions. The reason is the ultra strong nuclear field found only in the heaviest ions. The highest-Z atomic systems available to physical investigation, the actinides, therefore, offer rich new physics that cannot be studied any other way. This ranges from new dominating forces in electron-ion collisions to tests of fundamental theories. A measurement of the two-loop Lamb shift in uranium is by many considered to be the ''holy grail'' of high-field QED tests of atomic systems. Such measurements have been attempted at heavy-ion accelerator facilities but have yet to succeed because of the difficulty to make measurements with the required accuracy. Also, electron collisions behave very differently in such tightly bound systems. The magnetic interaction between the ion and the incoming free electron (the so-called generalized Breit interaction) is essentially non-existent in collisions involving low and medium-Z ions. This interaction is therefore missing in essentially all electron collision codes. But in heavy, highly charged ions like uranium, the generalized Breit interaction readily is the dominant force, changing electron collision cross sections by a factor of two. This has never been experimentally observed. In fact, no K-shell emission spectrum of any heavy high-Z ion higher than krypton (Z=36) has ever been recorded from a collisional source. By studying the heaviest actinides such fundamental science can be extended to regimes where the highest precision tests can be made

Testing high-Z QED with SuperEBIT: An estimate of the U91+ 1s two-loop Lamb shift based on a measurement of the 2s1/2 - 2p1/2 transition in U89+

Starting from the results of a recent measurement of the 2s{sub 1/2}-2p{sub 1/2} transition in U{sup 89+} has been made on the SuperEBIT electron beam ion trap, which provided a determination of the 2s two-loop QED contribution, we estimate 1.27 {+-} 0.45 eV for the two-loop contribution to the 1s level in U{sup 91+}. This estimate could be improved by a factor of two or more, if the uncertainties associated with the three-photon exchange in the theoretical calculations were eliminated in the future