Ion-lithium collision dynamics studied with an in-ring MOTReMi

TL;DR

This paper introduces the MOTReMi, a new experimental setup combining a magneto-optical trap and Reaction Microscope, enabling detailed studies of ion-atom collision dynamics with high precision.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel in-ring experimental apparatus, MOTReMi, for kinematically complete investigations of laser-cooled atom break-up processes in ion collisions.

Findings

Studied ionization and ionization-excitation in O$^{8+}$-Li collisions.

Achieved high-precision measurements of collision dynamics.

Demonstrated the capability of MOTReMi in collision experiments.

Abstract

We present a novel experimental tool allowing for kinematically complete studies of break-up processes of laser-cooled atoms. This apparatus, the 'MOTReMi', is a combination of a magneto-optical trap (MOT) and a Reaction Microscope (ReMi). Operated in an ion-storage ring, the new setup enables to study the dynamics in swift ion-atom collisions on an unprecedented level of precision and detail. In first experiments on collisions with 1.5 MeV/amu O$^{8+}$-Li the pure ionization of the valence electron as well as ionization-excitation of the lithium target has been investigated.