Lifetime measurement in138Ba+ using superimposed ion and laser beams

As a feasibility test for nanosecond time resolution in the superimposed beam geometry, we remeasured the lifetime of the 6p ²P_3/2 level of¹³⁸Ba⁺ by a new technique. Merging an accelerated ion beam with an argon laser beam, optical resonance was achieved over a very short path length by Doppler tuning the ion velocity within a short post acceleration zone. The final results is τ=(6.31±0.05) ns which is in good agreement with a previous high precision measurement by Andrä. Implications for the possible observation of coherent transient effects in fast ion beams are briefly discussed.     

Design considerations and scaling laws for high power convective cooled CW CO2 lasers

Various criteria for designing high power convective cooled CO₂ lasers have been discussed. Considering the saturation intensity, optical damage threshold of the optical resonator components and the small-signal gain, the scaling laws for designing high power CW CO₂ lasers have been established. In transverse flow CO₂ lasers having discharge of square cross-section, the discharge lengthL and its widthW for a specific laser powerP (Watt) and gas flow velocityV (cm/s) can be given byL = 1.4 x 10⁴ p ^1/2 V ^-1 cms andW = 0.04P ^1/2 cms. The optimum transmitivity of the output coupler is found to be almost constant (about 60%), independent of the small signal gain and laser power. In fast axial flow CO₂ lasers the gas flow should be divided into several discharge tubes to maintain the flow velocity within sonic limit. The discharge length in this type of laser does not depend explicitly on the laser power, instead it depends on the input power density in the discharge and the gas flow velocity. Various considerations for ensuring better laser beam quality are also discussed.     

Precision lifetime measurement of fine structure states in the NeI 2p53p configuration

The beam—gas-laser two-step excitation technique of a fast ion beam is used for precision measurements of atomic life-times. By observing the decay of the purely laser induced fluorescence radiation, the lifetimes of eight fine-structure levels 2p₂ to 2p₉ in the NeI 2p⁵3p configuration were measured with total standard deviations of 0.2 to 0.5%.     

Measurement of the transverse Doppler shift using a stored relativistic7Li+ ion beam

We have performed for the first time precision spectroscopy on a coasting fast⁷Li⁺ ion beam in a storage ring. The ion beam moving with 6.4% speed of light was first electron cooled and then merged with two counterpropagating laser beams acting on two different hyperfine transitions sharing a common upper level (λ-system). One laser was frequency locked to thea ₃ ¹²⁷J₂ hfs frequency component established as a secondary frequency standard at 514 nm. The second laser was tuned over theλ-resonance, which was recorded relative to¹²⁷J₂ hfs components. This experiment is sensitive to the time dilation in fast moving frames and will lead to new limits for the verification of special relatively. The present status of the experiment and perspectives in accuracy are discussed.     

High resolution spectroscopy of the transition 5d2D3/2→6p2P 3 2/0 in a fast Ba+ ion beam

Using the “velocity bunching” effect occurring in beam direction of a fast ion beam the hyperfine structure of the Ba II transition 5d²D_3/2→6p²P ₃ ^2/0 has been investigated by means of a laser absorption experiment. From a mass separated¹³⁷Ba⁺ beam we have obtained hyperfine dipole and quadrupole splitting factors A and B and from a not mass separated Ba⁺ beam isotope shift data as well as A and B values. The results are A(5d²D_3/2) =5.696(24) mK, A(6p²P ₃ ^2/0 )=3.759(27) mK, B(5d²D_3/2)=1.01(4) mK, B(6p²P ₃ ^2/0 ) =2.07(4) mK. Values for the isotope shifts are given.     

Fast electron energy deposition in aluminium foils: Resistive vs. drag heating

The high current electron beam losses have been studied experimentally with 0.7 J, 40 fs, 6 10¹⁹ Wcm^-2 laser pulses interacting with Al foils of thicknesses 10-200 μm. The fast electron beam characteristics and the foil temperature were measured by recording the intensity of the electromagnetic emission from the foils rear side at two different wavelengths in the optical domain, ≈407 nm (the second harmonic of the laser light) and ≈500 nm. The experimentally observed fast electron distribution contains two components: one relativistic tail made of very energetic (T _h ^tail ≈ 10 MeV) and highly collimated (7° ± 3°) electrons, carrying a small amount of energy (less than 1% of the laser energy), and another, the bulk of the accelerated electrons, containing lower-energy (T _h ^bulk=500 ± 100 keV) more divergent electrons (35 ± 5°), which transports about 35% of the laser energy. The relativistic component manifests itself by the coherent 2ω₀ emission due to the modulation of the electron density in the interaction zone. The bulk component induces a strong target heating producing measurable yields of thermal emission from the foils rear side. Our data and modeling demonstrate two mechanisms of fast electron energy deposition: resistive heating due to the neutralizing return current and collisions of fast electrons with plasma electrons. The resistive mechanism is more important at shallow target depths, representing an heating rate of 100 eV per Joule of laser energy at 15 μm. Beyond that depth, because of the beam divergence, the incident current goes under 10¹² Acm^-2 and the collisional heating becomes more important than the resistive heating. The heating rate is of only 1.5 eV per Joule at 50 μm depth.     

Generation of a fast-ion beam upon the interaction of a multiterawatt picosecond laser pulse with a solid target

The parameters of fast particles generated upon the interaction of 10¹⁹ W/cm² laser pulses with solid targets are studied. The spatial and energy parameters of fast ions are investigated. It is found that approximately 1–3% of the laser energy is transformed to the energy of mega-and submegaelectronvolt ions at laser pulse intensities ≥10¹⁸ W/cm². It is shown experimentally that an ion beam is directed perpendicular to the target surface. The analytic and numerical simulations agree with experimental results and predict the propagation of fast electrons in the mirror direction with respect to the incident laser beam and of ions perpendicular to the target. The theoretical calculations are compared with the experimental output and spectra of fast electrons and ions.     

Preparation of relativistic 7Li+ ion beams for precision experiments at storage rings

Heavy ion storage rings allow for tests of the structure of local space time via the Doppler effect. At the TSR/Heidelberg an experiment with high resolution laser spectroscopy at ⁷Li⁺ is performed. To gain the maximum resolution for saturation spectroscopy new methods of relativistic ion beam preparation and diagnostics have been developed. The laser cooling of the beam allows for precision determination of the mean velocity of the ions. A novel phase synchronous detection scheme, ultimately sensitive to single ions, gives insights into the cooling mechanism and dynamics. With an additional synchronous excitation scheme systematic uncertainties of the test experiment can be drastically reduced. After separation of the ground state ions from the triplet states of ⁷Li⁺ by the combination of laser and electron cooling, a bunched and cooled ensemble of fast moving high precision clocks with minimized perturbations by space charge effects and intra beam scattering is available. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Steady state and transient self-interaction of a laser beam in a strongly ionized moving plasma

The steady state and transient self-interaction of a laser beam with a strongly ionized plasma flowing transverse to the direction of propagation have been investigated by a phenomenological approach using perturbation theory, WKB and paraxial ray approximations. The effect of the transverse motion of the plasma has been included by a convection term in the energy balance equation and is found to result in the non-symmetrical heating of electrons. As a result the beam is shifted towards the direction of transverse flow of the plasma by an amount that increases with the flow velocity. The extent of asymmetry in self-focusing along the transverse directions is, however very small. In a typical case of 7.6×10⁵ watt laser of ω=10⁴ GHz and initial beam widthr ₀=0.05 cm the transverse shiftx _p=0.1r ₀ is predicted in a distance of propagationz=0.34 cm in a strongly ionized plasma of electron densityN _e=10¹⁶ cm^?3 and transverse flow velocityW ₀=10⁷ cm/sec.     

Bright thermal atomic beams by laser cooling: A 1400-fold gain in beam flux

Using a three-step transverse laser cooling scheme, a strongly diverging flow of metastable Ne(3s ³ P ₂] atoms is compressed into a well-collimated, small diameter atomic beam (e.g., 1.4 mrad HWHM divergence at 3.6 mm beam diameter) with an unmodified axial velocity distribution centered at 580 m/s. The maximum increase in beam flux 1.04 m downstream of the source is a factor 1400; the maximum increase in phase space density, i.e., brightness, is a factor 160. The laser power used is only 140 mW. The scheme is extendable to a large variety of atomic species and enables the application of bright atomic beams in many areas of physics.     

Acousto-induced structural change in amorphous As2S3

The acoustic flux injection method was applied to amorphous As₂S₃. The velocity and the attenuation constant for shear wave at ～ 100MHz were measured through the observation of the Brillouin scattering of the light beam from a He-Ne laser. The optical transmission around absorption edge was found to change after the injection of acoustic fluxes. It was also found that the sound velocity decreased with increasing injection time of acoustic fluxes and the amount of the change of the sound velocity reached ～ 20% after 10⁵ injections. The changes in the optical transmission and the sound velocity tended to be erased by annealing below the glass transition temperature. These phenomena are considered to be due to structural changes caused by the injection of strong acoustic fluxes.     

Velocity selective optical pumping and repumping effects with counter and copropagating laser radiations for D<Subscript>2</Subscript> lines of rubidium

The effects of a strong control or pump laser, counter propagating or copropagating with the probe beam, on the probe absorption spectra of ⁸⁵Rb and ⁸⁷Rb-D₂ transitions have been investigated inside a room temperature Rb vapour cell. In both cases a set of strong velocity selective resonance dips are observed at different velocities. Their movements across the Doppler broadened probe absorption profile have been studied for different lock frequencies of the control laser. These spectra are modified by optical pumping effects due to the presence of another hyperfine component of the ground state. A repumping laser, from the dark hyperfine component of the ground level transfers almost 75% of the atoms from the dark state to the pump probe cycle hence reducing the optical pumping effect. A numerical simulation is done to explain the observed spectra. The effect of a control laser on the Lamb dip spectrum of the probe laser has also been investigated. The control beam is used to improve the strength of a weak hyperfine dip on the Doppler broadened probe spectrum. The strength of the hyperfine dip increases by a factor of 3.2 in presence of the control laser. The observed dips show that pump-probe spectroscopy can be used as velocity selectors of atoms.     

激光准直Cr原子束的实验研究

利用多普勒原理对Cr原子束进行横向准直.应用激光感生荧光技术稳定激光器的频率，把激光器的中心频率稳定在偏离Cr原子共振中心频率-5±0.26MHz的位置.根据理论计算出准直激光束的最小尺寸为13.7mm.根据实验数据选择合适的参数，实现利用多普勒原理横向准直Cr原子束，使原子束的横向分布缩小到原来的1/3. 关键词： 激光准直 激光感生荧光稳频 多普勒冷却     

An atom faucet

We present a simple and efficient source of slow atoms. From a background vapour loaded magneto-optical trap (MOT), a thin laser beam extracts a continuous jet of cold rubidium atoms. The jet that is typical to leaking MOT systems is created without any optical parts placed inside the vacuum chamber. We also present a simple three dimensional numerical simulation of the atomic motion in the presence of these multiple saturating laser fields combined with the inhomogeneous magnetic field of the MOT. At a pressure of P _Rb87 = 10^-8 mbar and with a moderate laser power of 10 mW per beam, we generate a flux Φ = 1.3×10⁸ atoms/s with a mean velocity of 14 m/s and a divergence of 10 mrad. Received 13 January 2001     

High-resolution diode-laser spectroscopy on a fast beam of metastable atoms for detecting very rare krypton isotopes

A fast krypton ion beam with an energy of 10 keV is transferred through a mass filter and neutralized in a Rb- (or Cs-) vapour charge exchange cell. The emerging beam of metastable Kr atoms of a selected Kr isotope is collinearly irradiated with a tunable cw GaAlAs diode laser at 811 nm. The spectrum of the 1s ₅–2p ₉ transition covers 10 GHz and consists of one line each for the five stable isotopes of Kr with even mass number and 15 hyperfine structure lines of⁸³Kr. The individual lines are recorded by detecting the fluorescence signal perpendicular to the beams. Photons are guided to the PM tube by diffuse reflection from a high reflectance thermoplastics light collector. Up to 20 photons per atom are emitted by cycling between the two states during the flight time of 1.2 µs through the detector. The observed absorption linewidth of 100 MHz is a combination of laser linewidth and energy uncertainty in the fast atomic beam. In order to achieve maximum isotope selectivity the beam energy has to be adjusted in such a way that the Doppler shifted lines of all isotopes form an optimum pattern for detecting the very rare isotopes⁸¹Kr and⁸⁵Kr in natural environmental samples.     

Study of Scintillation for Infrared Laser Beam Propagating in Atmospheric Turbulence on Earth-Space Paths

On earth-space paths, by applying a modification of the Rytov method that incorporates spatial frequency filter function under strong atmosphere fluctuation conditions, a tractable model is developed for the scintillation index of infrared laser Gaussian beam wave that is valid under moderate-to-strong irradiance fluctuations. At Infrared band, based on ITU-R C ² _n model, the scintillation indexes for collimation laser beam are predicted by this analytic model. The results agree with theoretic expected scintillation. This scintillation model can be converted into a plane or a sphere wave scintillation index model on earth-space paths, and also reduced to a Gaussian beam wave model on horizontal sight paths of invariable C ² _n.     

Hyperfine structure and isotope shifts of neutron-rich138–146Cs

The 6s²S_1/2-7_p ²P_3/2 transition in^138–142Cs (λ=455.5 nm) has been investigated by high-resolution collinear laser spectroscopy in a fast atomic beam. The isotopes are obtained by on-line mass separation of fission products. Nuclear moments and changes of mean-square charge radii are derived from hyperfine structure and isotope shift.     

Deposition of smooth high-<Emphasis Type="Italic">T</Emphasis><Subscript>c</Subscript> superconducting films with a solid-state YAG: Nd<Superscript>3+</Superscript> laser

A method is presented for the deposition of smooth epitaxial high-T _c superconducting films using a pulsed infrared YAG: Nd³⁺ laser and velocity filtration. This method is based on the removal of drops and solid particles from the flow of deposited substance with a fast shutter made of a rotating disk. The deposited smooth homogeneous YBa₂Cu₃O_7?δ films have a critical temperature T _c > 90 K. The surface concentration of drops is less than 3 × 10² cm^?2, and their amount is decreased by more than six orders of magnitude.     

铬原子束横向一维激光冷却的蒙特卡罗方法仿真

激光汇聚铬原子沉积实验中,铬原子束准直度的好坏非常重要.利用蒙特卡罗随机思想选取原子轨迹初始条件,将⁵²Cr原子以外的其他同位素、纵向速度分布和横向发散角等因素综合考虑,对铬原子束横向一维激光冷却进行了优化分析.经过与均匀取值法比较,这种方法能够更好地体现原子运动的不确定性,挑选出不参与冷却过程的同位素,使考察界面内原子束的横向位置分布更好的符合实验结果.结果显示,冷却过程中其他同位素的存在使原子束横向位置分布的中心最大值减小9.3%,半高宽增加11%,并且增加轮廓曲线的基底. 关键词： 激光冷却 蒙特卡罗方法 铬原子束     

Thermal lens determination of LD end-pumped solid-state laser with stable resonator by slit scanning method

A simple method to determine the thermal focal length of LD end-pumped solid-state laser with stable resonator is presented. The M² factor describing the quality of the beam can be obtained by scanning a slit through the multi-mode Gaussian beam field. The waist width of the beam and the corresponding TEM₀₀ under the same parameters of laser are then deduced through the law of multi-mode Gaussian beam propagation. Based on the standard matrix theory of stable resonator, the thermal focal length of the gain medium can be easily achieved. To show the application of this approach, the thermal focal length of an LD pumped Nd:YVO₄ laser is measured and the experimental results are in agreement with the theoretical prediction.