Ion Mobilities for Heaviest Element Identification
Final Report Abstract
Relativistic effects are inherent in nature, and this also applies to heavy atoms, whose electronic structure can only be vaguely described without taking these effects into account. Ion mobility spectrometry provides a straightforward way to study heavy ion-atom interactions as function of the electronic configuration, and thus to study the influence of these effects on the electronic structure of the corresponding ion. In this project, a cryogenic ion mobility spectrometer was developed to systematically measure the mobilities of heavy lanthanide and actinide cations in different gases and at different pressures, temperatures, and reduced electric fields. The device was commissioned and characterized with laser-ablated ions of naturally occurring lanthanides and transition metals using purified helium as drift gas. Ion bunching was optimized for the best chromatography performance using a miniature radio-frequency ion guide and buncher. State-specific ion mobilities were recorded for many monoatomic and molecular ions, some of which were measured for the first time, such as in Eu+ , Lu+ , and their oxides. The room-temperature mobility of Lu+ in He as a function of the reduced electric field is in agreement for both observed states with theoretical predictions based on ab-initio interaction potentials. Furthermore, the deactivation of the metastable state in Lu+ (3 D1 ) was investigated under different conditions of drift pressures and reduced electric fields to gain insights into the diabatic processes induced by level crossings. Currently a new approach in ion production is followed to accommodate the apparatus to the efficiency requirements when it comes to similar investigations in the region of the actinides and beyond, which could not be undertaken in current funding period.
Publications
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Ion Mobilities for Heaviest Element Identification. Hyperfine Interactions, 241(1).
Rickert, Elisabeth; Backe, Hartmut; Block, Michael; Laatiaoui, Mustapha; Lauth, Werner; Raeder, Sebastian; Schneider, Jonas & Schneider, Fabian
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Laser Resonance Chromatography: First Commissioning Results and Future Prospects.
EunKang Kim, Biswajit Jana, Aayush Arya, Michael Block, Sebastian Raeder, Harry Ramanantoanina, Elisabeth Rickert, Elisa Romero Romero & Mustapha Laatiaoui
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Conceptual design of an actinide ion mobility spectrometer, Virtual DPG-Tagung (DPG Meeting) of the Atomic, Molecular, Plasma Physics and Quantum Optics Section (SAMOP2021), MS6.4, 09/20–09/24/2021, conference contribution.
Elisabeth Rickert, Hartmut Backe, Michael Block, Christoph E. Düllmann, Mustapha Laatiaoui,Werner Lauth, Sebastian Raeder & Philipp Sikora
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A Novel Concept of Laser-assisted Electronic State Chromatography towards Studies of Superheavy Elements, Fifth International Conference on Application of RadiotraCers and Energetic Beams in Sciences (ARCEBS-2023), Sidho-Kanho-Birsha University, India, 01/31–02/05/2023, conference contribution.
Biswajit Jana, Michael Block, Eunkang Kim, Steven Nothhelfer, Sebastian Raeder, Harry Ramanantoanina, Elisabeth Rickert, Elisa Romero Romero, Jonas Schneider, Philipp Sikora,& Mustapha Laatiaoui
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Development of an Ion Mobility Spectrometer towards studies of Lanthanides and Actinides, DPG-Frühjahrstagung (DPG Spring Meeting) of the Atomic, Molecular, Quantum Optics and Photonics Section (SAMOP2024), MS6.5, 03/10–03/15/2024, conference contribution.
Biswajit Jana, Aayush Arya, Eunkang Kim, Elisabeth Rickert, Elisa Romero Romero, Harry Ramanantoanina, Sebastian Raeder, Michael Block & Mustapha Laatiaoui
