High resolution X-ray spectra of the time evolution of emission from metastable electronic states of highly charged Ni-like ions

Timothy Burke; Endre Takacs; Dipti Dipti; Adam Hosier; Galen O’Neil; Joseph Tan; Hunter Staiger; Aung Naing; Joan Marler; Yuri Ralchenko

doi:10.1140/epjd/s10053-024-00872-0

2023 Impact factor 1.5

Atomic, Molecular, Optical and Plasma Physics

Atomic Spectra and Oscillator Strengths (ASOS14)

Open Access

Eur. Phys. J. D (2024) 78: 78
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/s10053-024-00872-0

Regular Article - Atomic Physics

High resolution X-ray spectra of the time evolution of emission from metastable electronic states of highly charged Ni-like ions

Timothy Burke¹, Endre Takacs¹^,2^b, Dipti²^,3, Adam Hosier¹, Galen O’Neil⁴, Joseph Tan², Hunter Staiger¹, Aung Naing², Joan Marler¹ and Yuri Ralchenko²

¹ Department of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson University, 29634, Clemson, SC, USA
² National Institute of Standards and Technology, 20899, Gaithersburg, MD, USA
³ International Atomic Energy Agency, 1400, Vienna, Austria
⁴ National Institute of Standards and Technology, 80305, Boulder, CO, USA

^b etakacs@clemson.edu

Received: 29 March 2024
Accepted: 27 May 2024
Published online: 25 June 2024

Abstract

Metastable levels of highly charged ions that can only decay via highly forbidden transitions can have a significant effect on the properties of high temperature plasmas. For example, the highly forbidden 3d $^{10}$ $^{10}$ $_{J = 0}$ $_{J=0}$ - 3d $^{9}$ $$^9$$ 4 s ${(\frac{5}{2}, \frac{1}{2})}_{J = 3}$ $(\frac{5}{2},\frac{1}{2})_{J=3}$ magnetic octupole (M3) transition in nickel-like ions can result in a large metastable population of its upper level which can then be ionized by electrons of energies below the ground state ionization potential. We present a method to study metastable electronic states in highly charged ions that decay by x-ray emission in electron beam ion traps (EBIT). The time evolution of the emission intensity can be used to study the parameters of ionization balance dynamics and the lifetime of metastable states. The temporal and energy resolution of a new transition-edge sensor microcalorimeter array enables these studies at the National Institute of Standards and Technology EBIT.

© The Author(s) 2024

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