On-going and proposed research with highest-charge-state ions extracted from an open-quotes electron beam ion trapclose quotes (EBIT)

High-charge-state thorium (up to 80+) and uranium (up to 70+) ions have been extracted from an electron-beam ion trap (EBIT). The ions were produced after injecting low-charge-state thorium and uranium ions from a metallic vapor vacuum arc ion source into the trap. The extracted ions from EBIT provide microsecond-wide ion-beam pulses of about 104 ions per second. The production and loss rates are discussed on the basis of modeling calculations and are compared to the measured extracted ion rates. Results from studies of ion/surface interactions using highest charge state ions show in general an increase of secondary reaction products (electrons, photons, and sputter ions). These first results are discussed and future experimental efforts are outlined. We have developed and are in the process of installing a new device to trap and cool highly charged ions to study collective effects, such as Coulomb crystallization, in a regime never explored before. The device (RETRAP) is a cryogenic Penning trap which allows the storage of ions at thermal and subthermal energies as a strongly coupled non-neutral plasma. In the first experiments we will use highly charged ions produced and extracted from EBIT. Once the ions are injected into RETRAP, they will be cooled to low temperatures (<41 degrees K) to observe Coulomb crystallization of the ions. We will investigate a number of cooling schemes, including resistive cooling and sympathetic laser cooling, as well as processes that affect confinement times. Successful demonstration of operating RETRAP in a proof-of-principle experiment, along with the development of new ion detection technologies, will provide unprecedented opportunities for novel experiments in the fields of atomic, plasma, condensed matter and nuclear physics