A technique for lifetime measurements of long-lived atomic states utilising laser excitation of stored ion beams

A laser probing technique for atomic lifetime measurements of metastable states using an ion storage ring is presented. The method benefits from the high spectral resolution of conventional fast ion beam laser spectroscopy, and is applicable to metastable systems in lowly charged ions with lifetimes in the 10 ms-1 s regime. Due to strong probing mechanisms, the technique can be applied to ion beams with low metastable fractions. A comprehensive description of the laser probing technique is given, with examples from recent experiments on singly charged calcium, strontium and xenon, and future prospects are discussed