Peer-Review Publications

Hyperfine-structure parameters and isotope shifts of 195–211At have been measured for the first time at CERN-ISOLDE, using the in-source resonance-ionization spectroscopy method. The hyperfine structures of isotopes were recorded using a triad of experimental techniques for monitoring the photo-ion current. The Multi-Reflection Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer, in connection with a high-resolution electron multiplier, was used as an ion-counting setup for isotopes that either were affected by strong isobaric contamination or possessed a long half-life; the ISOLDE Faraday cups were used for cases with high-intensity beams; and the Windmill decay station was used for short-lived, predominantly α-decaying nuclei. The electromagnetic moments and changes in the mean-square charge radii of the astatine nuclei have been extracted from the measured hyperfine-structure constants and isotope shifts. This was only made possible by dedicated state-of-the-art large-scale atomic computations of the electronic factors and the specific mass shift of atomic transitions in astatine that are needed for these extractions. By comparison with systematics, it was possible to assess the reliability of the results of these calculations and their ascribed uncertainties. A strong deviation in the ground-state mean-square charge radii of the lightest astatine isotopes, from the trend of the (spherical) lead isotopes, is interpreted as the result of an onset of deformation. This behavior bears a resemblance to the deviation observed in the isotonic polonium isotopes. Cases for shape coexistence have been identified in 197,199At, for which a significant difference in the charge radii for ground (9/2−) and isomeric (1/2+) states has been observed.

In this contribution we review the present status of experimental studies of electroweak decays of highly charged ions. A particular focus will be given on the bound state beta decay measurement of 205Tl.

Investigations of energy transfer of high intensity (I=5x10^19 W/cm2), ultrashort (<30 fs) Ti:Sa laser pulses to solid targets with a randomly rough surface have been performed. We investigated the influence of the target surface morphology on the efficiency of energy transfer of p-polarized laser pulses characterized by a very high contrast. Targets with a roughness r larger than 20% of the laser wavelength proved to absorb a remarkably large fraction of energy reaching up to 70%, almost independent of the incidence angle. Numerical simulations of various interaction conditionsare in agreement with the experimental data and confirm the effect of the target morphology and its surface parameters on the enhanced energy absorbed fraction.

We study the influence of an additional uncontrolled (stray) magnetic field upon the measurement of long-range spin-spin interaction strength of two spin-1/2 valence electrons bound in two separate ions at well-defined distances from each other. This stray field, which is neither perpendicular nor parallel to the line connecting two ions, could appear due to the Earth magnetic field, or, due to the slight angular misalignment between the applied magnetic field and the line connecting two ions. It is found that the presence of the stray magnetic field plays an important role in the dynamics of the spin-states of two electrons. If neglected in the analysis, moreover, such a stray field may affect the measurement of the spin-spin interaction strength, especially at smaller inter-spin distances.

Laser-driven neutrons are generated by the conversion of laser-accelerated ions via nuclear reactions inside a converter material. We present results from an experimental campaign at the PHELIX laser at GSI in Darmstadt where protons and deuterons were accelerated from thin deuterated plastic foils with thicknesses in the μm and sub-μm range. The neutrons were generated inside a sandwich-type beryllium converter, leading to reproducible neutron numbers around 10^11 neutrons per shot. The angular distribution was measured with a high level of detail using up to 30 bubble detectors simultaneously. It shows a laser forward directed component of up to 1.42 × 10^10 neutrons per steradian, corresponding to a dose of 43 mrem scaled to a distance of 1 m from the converter.

The magnetic dipole (M1) line strength between the fine-structure levels of the ground configurations in B-, F-, Al-, and Cl-like ions are calculated for the four elements argon, iron, molybdenum, and tungsten. Systematically enlarged multiconfiguration Dirac-Hartree-Fock (MCDHF) wave functions are employed to account for the interelectronic interaction with the Breit interaction included in first-order perturbation theory. The QED corrections are evaluated to all orders in αZ utilizing an effective potential approach. The calculated line strengths are compared with the results of other theories. The M1 transition rates are reported using accurate energies from the literature. Moreover, the lifetimes in the range of millisecond to picosecond are predicted including the contributions from the transition rate due to the E2 transition channel. The discrepancies of the predicted rates from those available from the literature are discussed and a benchmark data set of theoretical lifetimes is provided to support future experiments.

The solutions of U(1) gauge-gravity coupling is one of the interesting models for analyzing the semi-classical nature of spacetime. In this regard, different well-known singular and nonsingular solutions have been taken into account. The paper at hand investigates the geometrical properties of the magnetic solutions by considering Maxwell and power Maxwell invariant (PMI) nonlinear electromagnetic fields in the context of massive gravity. These solutions are free of curvature singularity, but have a conic one which leads to presence of deficit/surplus angle. The emphasize is on modifications that these generalizations impose on deficit angle which determine the total geometrical structure of the solutions, hence, physical/gravitational properties. It will be shown that depending on the background spacetime [being anti de Sitter (AdS) or de Sitter (dS)], these generalizations present different effects and modify the total structure of the solutions differently.

Thermally induced refractive index gratings in Yb-doped fibers lead to transverse mode instability (TMI) above an average power threshold, which represents a severe problem for many applications. To obtain a deeper understanding of TMI, the evolution of the strength of the thermally induced refractive index grating with the average output power in a fiber amplifier is experimentally investigated for the first time. This investigation is performed by introducing a phase shift between the refractive index grating and modal interference pattern, which is obtained by applying a pump power variation to the fiber amplifier. It is demonstrated that the refractive index grating is sufficiently strong to enable modal energy coupling at powers that are significantly below the TMI threshold if the induced phase shift is sufficiently large. The experiments indicate that at higher powers, the refractive index grating becomes more sensitive to such phase shifts, which will ultimately trigger TMI. Furthermore, the experimental results demonstrate beam cleaning above the TMI threshold via the introduction of a positive phase shift. This finding paves the way for the development of a new class of mitigation strategies for TMI that are based on controlling the phase shift between the thermally induced refractive index grating and modal interference pattern.

Schwinger pair production in spatially and temporally inhomogeneous electric and magnetic fields is studied. The focus is on the particle phase-space distribution within a high-intensity few-cycle pulse. Accurate numerical solutions of a quantum kinetic theory (DHW formalism) are presented in momentum space and, with the aid of coarse-graining techniques, in a mixed spatial-momentum representation. Additionally, signatures of the carrier-envelope phase as well as spin-field interactions are discussed on the basis of a trajectory-based model taking into account instantaneous pair production and relativistic single-particle dynamics. Although our simple semi-classical single-particle model cannot describe every aspect of the particle production process (quantum interferences), essential features such as spin-field interactions are captured.

We present the technique of Compton polarimetry using X-ray detectors based on double-sided segmented semiconductor crystals that were developed within the SPARC collaboration. In addition, we discuss the polarization reconstruction algorithm with particular emphasis on systematic deviations between the observed detector response and our model function for the Compton scattering distribution inside the detector.

We study electron-positron pair creation by a strong and constant electric field superimposed with a weaker transversal plane wave which is incident perpendicularly (or under some angle). Comparing the fully nonperturbative approach based on the world-line instanton method with a perturbative expansion into powers of the strength of the weaker plane wave, we find good agreement—provided that the latter is carried out to sufficiently high orders. As usual for the dynamically assisted Sauter-Schwinger effect, the additional plane wave induces an exponential enhancement of the pair-creation probability if the combined Keldysh parameter exceeds a certain threshold.

Compact, ultra-high-speed self-bearing permanent-magnet motors enable a wide scope of applications including an increasing number of optical ones. For implementation in an optical setup, the rotors have to satisfy high demands regarding their velocity and pointing errors. Only a restricted number of measurements of these parameters exist and only at relatively low velocities. This manuscript presents the measurement of the velocity and pointing errors at rotation frequencies up to 5 kHz. The acquired data allow us to identify the rotor drive as the main source of velocity variations with fast fluctuations of up to 3.4 ns (RMS) and slow drifts of 23 ns (RMS) over ∼120 revolutions at 5 kHz in vacuum. At the same rotation frequency, the pointing fluctuated by 12 μrad (RMS) and 33 μrad (peak-to-peak) over ∼10 000 round trips. To our best knowledge, this states the first measurement of velocity and pointing errors at multi-kHz rotation frequencies and will allow potential adopters to evaluate the feasibility of such rotor drives for their application.

We demonstrate a compact and robust Yb-fiber master-oscillator power-amplifier system operating at 1018 nm with 2.5-nm bandwidth and 1-ns stretched pulse duration. It produces 87-W average power and 4.9-µJ pulse energy, constituting a powerful seed source for cryogenically cooled ultrafast Yb: yttrium lithium fluoride (Yb:YLF) amplifiers.

Many atomic processes result in the emission of photons. Analysis of the properties of emitted photons, such as energy and angular distribution as well as polarization, is regarded as a powerful tool for gaining more insight into the physics of corresponding processes. Another characteristic of light is the projection of its angular momentum upon propagation direction. This property has attracted a special attention over the past decades due to studies of twisted (or vortex) light beams. Measurements being sensitive to this projection may provide valuable information about the role of angular momentum in the fundamental atomic processes. Here we describe a simple theoretical method for determination of the angular momentum properties of the photons emitted in various atomic processes. This method is based on the evaluation of expectation value of the total angular momentum projection operator. To illustrate the method, we apply it to the textbook examples of plane-wave, spherical-wave, and Bessel light. Moreover, we investigate the projection of angular momentum for the photons emitted in the process of the radiative recombination with ionic targets. It is found that the recombination photons do carry a nonzero projection of the orbital angular momentum.

We present a coherently combined laser amplifier with 16 channels from a multicore fiber in a proof-of-principle demonstration. Filled-aperture beam splitting and combination, together with temporal phasing, is realized in a compact and low-component-count setup. Combined average power of up to 70 W with 40 ps pulses is achieved with combination efficiencies around 80%.

We determine bounds on the curvature of local patches of spacetime from the requirement of intact long-range chiral symmetry. The bounds arise from a scale-dependent analysis of gravitational catalysis and its influence on the effective potential for the chiral order parameter, as induced by fermionic fluctuations on a curved spacetime with local hyperbolic properties. The bound is expressed in terms of the local curvature scalar measured in units of a gauge-invariant coarse-graining scale. We argue that any effective field theory of quantum gravity obeying this curvature bound is safe from chiral symmetry breaking through gravitational catalysis and thus compatible with the simultaneous existence of chiral fermions in the low-energy spectrum. With increasing number of dimensions, the curvature bound in terms of the hyperbolic scale parameter becomes stronger. Applying the curvature bound to the asymptotic safety scenario for quantum gravity in four spacetime dimensions translates into bounds on the matter content of particle physics models.

Relativistic calculations of the second- and third-order contributions in magnetic field to the Zeeman splitting in boronlike ions are presented for the wide range of nuclear charge numbers Z=6−92. The interelectronic-interaction correction of the first order in 1/Z is evaluated to all orders in αZ. The higher order corrections in 1/Z are taken into account approximately by means of effective screening potentials. The obtained results are important for interpretation of experimental data on the Zeeman splitting in boronlike ions, in particular, for the ARTEMIS experiment presently implemented at GSI.

Collinear laser spectroscopy has been performed on doubly charged ions of radioactive yttrium in order to study the isotope shifts of the 294.6-nm 5s2S1/2→5p2P1/2 line. The potential of such an alkali-metal-like transition to improve the reliability of atomic-field-shift and mass-shift factor calculations, and hence the extraction of nuclear mean-square radii, is discussed. Production of yttrium ion beams for such studies is available at the IGISOL IV Accelerator Laboratory, Jyväskylä, Finland. This newly recommissioned facility is described here in relation to the on-line study of accelerator-produced short-lived isotopes using collinear laser spectroscopy and application of the technique to doubly charged ions.

The High Energy Storage Ring, HESR, will be constructed at the Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research, FAIR, Darmstadt. For the first time, it will be possible to perform experiments with cooled high-intensity stable and radioactive heavy ions at highly relativistic energies. To design experiments at the HESR, realistic estimations of beam lifetimes are indispensable. Here we report calculated cross sections and lifetimes for typical U88+, U90+, U92+, Sn49+ and Sn50+ ions in the energy range E = 400 MeV/u–5 GeV/u, relevant for the HESR. Interactions with the residual gas and with internal gas-jet targets are also considered.

The tremendous progress in high-intensity laser technology and the establishment of dedicated high-field laboratories in recent years have paved the way towards a first observation of quantum vacuum nonlinearities at the high-intensity frontier. We advocate a particularly prospective scenario, where three synchronized high-intensity laser pulses are brought into collision, giving rise to signal photons, whose frequency and propagation direction differ from the driving laser pulses, thus providing various means to achieve an excellent signal to background separation. Based on the theoretical concept of vacuum emission, we employ an efficient numerical algorithm which allows us to model the collision of focused high-intensity laser pulses in unprecedented detail. We provide accurate predictions for the numbers of signal photons accessible in experiment. Our study is the first to predict the precise angular spread of the signal photons, and paves the way for a first verification of quantum vacuum nonlinearity in a well-controlled laboratory experiment at one of the many high-intensity laser facilities currently coming online.

The link between a modified Higgs self-coupling and the strong first-order phase transition necessary for baryogenesis is well explored for polynomial extensions of the Higgs potential. We broaden this argument beyond leading polynomial expansions of the Higgs potential to higher polynomial terms and to nonpolynomial Higgs potentials. For our quantitative analysis we resort to the functional renormalization group, which allows us to evolve the full Higgs potential to higher scales and finite temperature. In all cases we find that a strong first-order phase transition manifests itself in an enhancement of the Higgs self-coupling by at least 50%, implying that such modified Higgs potentials should be accessible at the LHC.

A new way of stabilizing the output beam of a fiber laser system operating above the mode instability threshold is described and the first proof-of-principle experimental results are presented. This technique, which relies on a modulation of the pump power, works by washing the thermally-induced refractive index grating out, which weakens the coupling efficiency between transverse modes. One of the main advantages of this simple, yet powerful, approach is that it can be easily incorporated in already existing fiber laser systems since it does not require any additional optical elements. Using this beam stabilization strategy, a significant pointing stability and beam quality improvement has been demonstrated up to an average power of \~600W, which is a factor of 2 above the mode instability threshold.

The spatial distribution of protons accelerated from submicron-thick plastic foil targets using multi-terawatt, frequency-doubled laser pulses with ultra-high temporal contrast has been investigated experimentally. A very stable, ring-like beam profile of the accelerated protons, oriented around the target’s normal direction has been observed. The ring’s opening angle has been found to decrease with increasing foil thicknesses. Two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations reproduce our results indicating that the ring is formed during the expansion of the proton density distribution into the vacuum as described by the mechanism of target-normal sheath acceleration. Here—in addition to the longitudinal electric fields responsible for the forward acceleration of the protons—a lateral charge separation leads to transverse field components accelerating the protons in the lateral direction.

We present a novel phase locking scheme for the coherent combination of beam arrays in the filled aperture configuration. Employing a phase dithering mechanism for the different beams similar to LOCSET, dithering frequencies for sequential combination steps are reused. By applying an additional phase alternating scheme, this allows for the use of standard synchronized multichannel lock-in electronics for phase locking a large number of channels even when the frequency bandwidth of the employed phase actuators is limited.

We apply quantum trajectory Monte Carlo computations in order to model strong-field ionization of atoms by twisted Bessel pulses and calculate photoelectron momentum distributions (PEMD). Since Bessel beams can be considered as an infinite superposition of circularly polarized plane waves with the same helicity, whose wave vectors lie on a cone, we compared the PEMD of such Bessel pulses to those of a circularly polarized pulse. We focus on the momentum distributions in propagation direction of the pulse and show how these momentum distributions are affected by experimental accessible parameters, such as the opening angle of the beam or the impact parameter of the atom with regard to the beam axis. In particular, we show that we can find higher momenta of the photoelectrons, if the opening angle is increased.