OBSERVATION OF VISIBLE AND UV MAGNETIC DIPOLE TRANSITIONS IN HIGHLY-CHARGED XENON AND BARIUM

We have observed an unusual transition which is predicted to result in visible and near-uv emission from very highly charged titaniumlike ions spanning the entire upper half of the periodic table. Measurements of the wavelengths of the 3d4 D25- D35 transitions in Ba+34 and Xe+32 are in surprisingly poor agreement with ab initio calculations. This work was carried out in an electron beam ion trap and demonstrates that such a device can be an important tool for visible spectroscopy of highly charged ions. © 1995 The American Physical Society.