Quantum electrodynamics (QED), the quantum field theory that describes the interaction between light and matter, is commonly regarded as the best-tested quantum theory in modern physics. However, this claim is mostly based on extremely precise studies performed in the domain of relatively low field strengths and light atoms and ions^1–6. In the realm of very strong electromagnetic fields such as in the heaviest highly charged ions (with nuclear charge Z ≫ 1), QED calculations enter a qualitatively different, non-perturbative regime. Yet, the corresponding experimental studies are very challenging, and theoretical predictions are only partially tested. Here we present an experiment sensitive to higher-order QED effects and electron–electron interactions in the high-Z regime. This is achieved by using a multi-reference method based on Doppler-tuned X-ray emission from stored relativistic uranium ions with different charge states. The energy of the 1s_1/22p_3/2 J = 2 → 1s_1/22s_1/2 J = 1 intrashell transition in the heaviest two-electron ion (U⁹⁰⁺) is obtained with an accuracy of 37 ppm. Furthermore, a comparison of uranium ions with different numbers of bound electrons enables us to disentangle and to test separately the one-electron higher-order QED effects and the bound electron–electron interaction terms without the uncertainty related to the nuclear radius. Moreover, our experimental result can discriminate between several state-of-the-art theoretical approaches and provides an important benchmark for calculations in the strong-field domain.

Radioactive nuclei with lifetimes on the order of millions of years can reveal the formation history of the Sun and active nucleosynthesis occurring at the time and place of its birth^1,2. Among such nuclei whose decay signatures are found in the oldest meteorites, ²⁰⁵Pb is a powerful example, as it is produced exclusively by slow neutron captures (the s process), with most being synthesized in asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars^3–5. However, making accurate abundance predictions for ²⁰⁵Pb has so far been impossible because the weak decay rates of ²⁰⁵Pb and ²⁰⁵Tl are very uncertain at stellar temperatures^6,7. To constrain these decay rates, we measured for the first time the bound-state β⁻ decay of fully ionized ²⁰⁵Tl⁸¹⁺, an exotic decay mode that only occurs in highly charged ions. The measured half-life is 4.7 times longer than the previous theoretical estimate⁸ and our 10% experimental uncertainty has eliminated the main nuclear-physics limitation. With new, experimentally backed decay rates, we used AGB stellar models to calculate ²⁰⁵Pb yields. Propagating those yields with basic galactic chemical evolution (GCE) and comparing with the ²⁰⁵Pb/²⁰⁴Pb ratio from meteorites^9–11, we determined the isolation time of solar material inside its parent molecular cloud. We find positive isolation times that are consistent with the other s-process short-lived radioactive nuclei found in the early Solar System. Our results reaffirm the site of the Sun’s birth as a long-lived, giant molecular cloud and support the use of the ²⁰⁵Pb–²⁰⁵Tl decay system as a chronometer in the early Solar System.

In this contribution, we present an experimental study carried out at GSI Darmstadt devoted to investigation of quantum electrodynamical (QED) effects for the ground states in hydrogen-and helium-like uranium. In the experiment, X-ray spectra following radiative recombination of free electrons with bare and H-like uranium ions (U 92+ , U 91+) were measured at the electron cooler of the ESR storage ring. Utilizing clean and favorable experimental conditions present at the electron cooler, we were able to obtain very accurate values for the ground-state binding energies from the observed X-ray transitions. When compared with theory, our results provide the most stringent test of bound-state QED for one-and two-electron systems in the strong-field regime.

Stable Tl 205 ions have the lowest known energy threshold for capturing electron neutrinos ( ν e ) of E ν e ≥ 50.6 keV . The Lorandite Experiment (LOREX), proposed in the 1980s, aims at obtaining the longtime averaged solar neutrino flux by utilizing natural deposits of Tl-bearing lorandite ores. To determine the ν e capture cross section, it is required to know the strength of the weak transition connecting the ground state of Tl 205 and the 2.3 keV first excited state in Pb 205 . The only way to experimentally address this transition is to measure the bound-state beta decay ( β b ) of fully ionized Tl 81 + 205 ions. After three decades of meticulous preparation, the half-life of the β b decay of Tl 81 + 205 has been measured to be 291 − 27 + 33 days using the Experimental Storage Ring (ESR) at GSI, Darmstadt. The longer measured half-life compared to theoretical estimates reduces the expected signal-to-noise ratio in the LOREX, thus challenging its feasibility. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

For decelerated bare lead ions at a low beam energy of 10 MeV/u, the x-ray emission associated with radiative recombination (RR) at threshold energies has been studied at the electron cooler of CRYRING@ESR at GSI, Darmstadt. In our experiment, we observed the full x-ray emission pattern by utilizing dedicated x-ray detection chambers installed at $0^{\circ }$ and ${180}^{\circ }$ observation geometry. Most remarkably, no line distortion effects due to delayed emission are present in the well-defined x-ray spectra, spanning a wide range of x-ray energies (from about 5 to 100 keV), which enables us to identify fine-structure resolved Lyman, Balmer, and Paschen x-ray lines along with the RR transitions into the $K, L$, and $M$ shells of the ions. For comparison with theory, an elaborate theoretical model is established taking into account the initial population distribution via RR for all atomic levels up to Rydberg states with principal quantum number $n=165$ in combination with time-dependent feeding transitions. Within the statistical accuracy, the experimental data are in very good agreement with the results of rigorous relativistic predictions. Most notably, this comparison sheds light on the contribution of prompt and delayed x-ray emission (up to 70 ns) to the observed x-ray spectra, originating in particular from yrast transitions into inner shells.