Simulations of a proof-of-principle experiment for collinear laser spectroscopy within a multi-reflection time-of-flight device

For nearly four decades Collinear Laser Spectroscopy (CLS) has been employed to determine ground-state properties of short-lived radionuclides. To extend its reach to the most exotic radionuclides with very low production yields, the novel Multi Ion Reflection Apparatus for CLS (MIRACLS) is currently under development at ISOLDE/CERN. In this setup, 30-keV ion bunches will be trapped between two electrostatic mirrors of a multi-reflection time-of-flight (MR-ToF) device such that the laser beam will probe the ions during each revolution. Thus, the observation time will be extended and the experimental sensitivity will be increased significantly while maintaining the high resolution of conventional CLS. A proof-of-principle experiment is currently being performed to demonstrate the potential of CLS within a low-energy MR-ToF device. Its first experimental results benchmark the validity of ion-optical simulations from the CLS perspective, which will also be applied to MIRACLS’ 30-keV apparatus.