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We report on an experiment aiming for a study of the radiative decay modes of the 1s(2s)2 level in Li-like uranium. The experiment was performed of initially Be-like uranium colliding with N2 molecules at an energy of 90 MeV/u. By measuring the x-ray production associated with K-shell ionization of the projectile, a high selectivity for the production of the 1s(2s)2 level is observed.

We have investigated the relation of forward emission cusp electron spectra and bremsstrahlung for 90AMeV U88+ + N2at the internal supersonic gas jet target of the ESR storage ring of GSI. We find that x ray photons measured in coincidence with cusp electrons originate from the short wavelength limit of the electron nucleus bremsstrahlung.

Radiative processes occurring in collision of decelerated bare uranium ions and molecular hydrogen are studied at the heavy-ion storage ring ESR. The combination of the deceleration technique and the narrow Compton profile of molecular hydrogen allowed us to resolve a multitude of REC transitions into the bound states of the projectile and to resolve unambiguously the tip region of primary bremsstahlung. For this purpose, a supersonic molecular hydrogen jet-target, precooled with liquid nitrogen and optimized for long-term stability, was applied.

The latest commissioning experiment of a two arm transmission crystal x-ray spectrometer along with high-performance position-sensitive microstrip germanium detectors is presented. The goal of the experiment was to observe with high resolution the Ly-α-transitions of H-like Pb81+produced in collisions with Kr atoms. Due to a photon e.ciency of only 10−8 the position sensitivity as well as the energy and time resolution of segmented solid state Germanium detectors are absolutely essential for experiments using crystal x-ray spectrometers dealing with beams of heavy ions. A detector system with the desired properties has become available through a collaboration with the Forschungszentrum Julich.

We report on simultaneous measurements of the continuum momentum distribution for RECC cusp electrons and bremsstrahlung in 90AMeV U88++ N2 → U88++ {N2+*} + ecusp(00) + hv (RECC) collisions. We show that x-ray photons which appear coincident with RECC cusp electrons stem from the short-wavelength limit of the electron-nucleus bremsstrahlung. The observed pronounced asymmetric cusp shape is in good agreement with theory within the relativistic impulse approximation. We expect that when exploiting the full imaging properties of our forward electron spectrometer, fully differential cross sections at the tip region of the bremsstrahlung spectrum with near 10−4 electron energy resolution are possible in the near future.

Accurate investigations of the structure of one- and few-electron ions in the high-Z regime provide unique possibilities for testing fundamental theories underlaying our present understanding of of the physics of extremely electro-magnetic strong fields. In this review, we concentrate on x-ray spectroscpic investigations of the ground-state transition energies in H-like uranium (heaviest stable element available) by using the intense beams of cooled heavy ions provided by the storage ring ESR at GSI. Such experiments allow for a precise study of the ground-state binding-energies in high-Z H-like ions where relativistic and QED effects are strongest. The most recent experiment is presented where the deceleration capability of the ESR storage ring was exploited for x-ray spectroscopy at the ESR electron cooler. In addition, we discuss the ongoing developments for a new generation of ground-state Lamb shift experiments aiming on a precision of 1 eV or even better. In particular, emphasis will be given to the dedicated crystal spectrometer (FOCAL) in combination with state of the art 2D position-sensitive solid state detectors, allowing for energy and time resolved x-ray imaging.