Fundamental nuclear properties measured with laser spectroscopy

Laser spectroscopy of radioactive ion beams far from stability can be used to precisely determine key nuclear observables from hyperfine structure and isotope shift measurements. These observables are vital in developing understanding of the nuclear many-body problem. In collinear laser spectroscopy, accelerated beams of atoms are overlapped with lasers to excite the hyperfine transitions resonantly, typically achieving laser linewidths on the order of MHz. This project will involve contributing to the continued development of the collinear resonance ionisation spectroscopy (CRIS) setup at ISOLDE, CERN alongside involvement in data taking experiments and laser ionization scheme development for tin. This work will run in parallel with a project in Manchester to replicate the CRIS beamline for industrial applications and offline testing. My work in Manchester will be focussed on building and testing a radio frequency Paul trap to cool and bunch the ion beam. This will also serve as a prototype for designing a similar future Paul trap for the CRIS beamline at ISOLDE, if the design appears to be viable.