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Abstract We show the effects of ladder ionization and hyperfine quenching on charge state distributions and spectral features of ions in electron beam ion trap (EBIT) devices. Ladder ionization with intermediate excitation of metastable states proceeds at lower than ionization potential electron beam energies, while hyperfine quenching reduces the lifetimes of these states by enhancing particular decay channels through nuclear-electronic coupling. Using Ni-like Pr and Nd ions, we show that these processes significantly alter ion populations and spectra, emphasizing the importance of incorporating hyperfine level specific modeling in EBIT studies. 

Abstract Charge-exchange recombination with neutral atoms significantly influences the ionization balance in electron beam ion traps (EBIT) because its cross section is relatively large compared to cross sections of electron collision induced processes. Modeling the highly charged ion cloud requires the estimate of operating parameters, such as electron beam energy and density, the density of neutral atoms, and the relative velocities of collision partners. Uncertainty in the charge-exchange cross section can dominate the overall uncertainty in EBIT experiments, especially when it compounds with the uncertainties of experimental parameters that are difficult to determine. We present measured and simulated spectra of few-electron Fe ions, where we used a single charge-exchange factor to reduce the number of free parameters in the model. The deduction of the charge-exchange factor from the ratio of Li-like and He-like features allows for predicting the intensity of H-like lines in the spectra. 

We report on a method for determining the absolute nuclear charge radius of high- $Z$elements using extreme-ultraviolet spectroscopy of highly charged Na-like ions in tandem with highly accurate atomic structure calculations of transition energy differences. The application of this method has reduced the nuclear charge radius uncertainty of ${}^{191}\mathrm{Ir}$by a factor of 8 from the currently accepted literature value, with a recently reported charge radius of 5.435(12) fm. The result reduces the charge radius uncertainty along the full Ir isotopic chain when combined with prior optical isotope shift measurements. The technique utilizes only a few million ions stored in an ion trap, which should apply to measurements with small quantities of radioactive nuclei. Published by the American Physical Society2025 

Abstract We describe a novel technique to determine absolute nuclear radii of high-Znuclides. Utilizing accurate theoretical atomic structure calculations together with precise measurements of extreme ultraviolet transitions in highly charged ions this method allows for precise determinations of absolute nuclear charge radii based upon the well-known nuclear radii of their neighboring elements. This method can work for elements without stable isotopes, and its accuracy may be competitive with current methods (electron scattering and muonic x-ray spectroscopy). 

High-resolution x-ray spectra were recorded at the National Institute of Standards and Technology electron beam ion trap (EBIT) using two Johann-type crystal spectrometers, with their dispersion planes oriented parallel and perpendicular to the beam direction. The linear polarizations of the 1s2−1s2l transitions in He-like argon ions were determined from the measured spectra at electron beam energies of 3.87 and 7.91 keV. The theoretical analysis was performed using detailed collisional-radiative modeling of the non-Maxwellian EBIT plasma with the NOMAD code modified to account for magnetic sublevel atomic kinetics. Effects influencing the polarizations of the observed 1s2−1s2l lines were investigated, including radiative cascades, the 1s2 1S0−1s2s 1S0 two-photon transition, and the charge exchange recombination of H-like argon ions. With these included, the measured polarizations of the resonance (1s2 1S0−1s2p 1P1), intercombination (1s2 1S0−1s2p 3P1), and forbidden lines (1s2 1S0−1s2s 3S1, 1s2 1S0−1s2p 3P2 ) were found to be in good agreement with the calculations.