RIMS measurement of odd-even isotope ratios with wide-band lasers on gadolinium: influence of the polarization, energy and delay of the laser pulses in the presence of an earth-like magnetic field

Previous authors have shown that the result of an isotope ratio measurement made by a Resonance Ionization Mass Spectroscopy (R.I.M.S.) method can depend on the Laser polarization or on the photoionization scheme. A study of gadolinium with wide-band polarized pulsed lasers was planned in order to confirm these results. A photoionization scheme scheme and an experimental set-up previously described is used. It allows the observation of the odd-even isotope ratio over a large range (from 48 to 0.4). The dependence of the results on the following experimental conditions is discussed: laser polarization and energy, time delays between the optical pulses and magnetic field intensity and orientation. (Author)