A field programmable gate array-based time-resolved scaler for collinear laser spectroscopy with bunched radioactive...

Area of Science:

• Nuclear Physics
• Atomic Physics
• Spectroscopy

Background:

• Laser spectroscopy requires advanced data acquisition systems for high-precision measurements.
• Radioactive isotopes like potassium-37 (37K) present unique challenges due to their short half-lives and low production rates.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and test a novel Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) based time-resolved scaler for laser-induced fluorescence and beam bunch coincidence measurements.
• To determine the hyperfine structure and isotope shift of radioactive 37K using the developed system.

Main Methods:

• Development of an FPGA-based time-resolved scaler for data acquisition.
• Collinear laser spectroscopy experiment on 37K at the BEam COoler and LAser spectroscopy (BECOLA) facility.
• Utilizing resonant photon detection with a bunch repetition rate of 2.5 Hz for background suppression.

Main Results:

• Achieved a background suppression factor of 3.1 × 10^5.
• Determined hyperfine coupling constants for 37K: A(2S(1/2)) = 120.3(1.4) MHz, A(2P(1/2)) = 15.2(1.1) MHz, and A(2P(3/2)) = 1.4(8) MHz.
• Measured the isotope shift of 37K relative to 39K as δν(39, 37) = -264(3) MHz.

Conclusions:

• The developed FPGA scaler system is effective for high-precision laser spectroscopy experiments.
• The determined spectroscopic properties of 37K are consistent with existing data, validating the new system's performance.