Laser Spectroscopic Investigations of Decay Properties in Stored Ions

Abstract: Investigations and measurements of metastable states are in many ways very important. Spectroscopists, theorists and astrophysicists have all great interest and requirements regarding knowledge about such states and their properties. One of the interesting properties is the lifetime of each state and lifetime measurements are therefore of great importance. It is necessary to have a long observation time when performing investigations on metastable states in ions and there are some different methods to fulfill this requirement. One method to store ions is to use an ion storage ring in which the ions are bent in circle by a magnetic or an electrostatic field. The storage ring method combined with a laser probing technique constitutes the basis for the papers described in this thesis. The thesis also contains some theoretical background to the experiments together with explanations regarding the experimental setup, the procedure for the laser probing technique and the systematic effects that have to be considered. The thesis includes results from nine different positive and negative singly charged ions. The experimental and theoretical results are presented and compared.The experiments have been done in collaboration with E. Biémont's theoretical group in Belgium, with S. Johansson's astrophysical group in Lund and D. Hanstorp's group in Gothenburg.