Measurement of the first ionization potential of astatine by laser ionization spectroscopy

S. Rothe; Andrei Andreyev; S. Antalic; A Borschevsky; L Capponi; T. E. Cocolios; H. De Witte; E Eliav; D. V. Fedorov; V N Fedosseev; D.A. Fink; S. Fritzsche; L. Ghys; M. Huyse; N. Imai; U. Kaldor; Yuri Kudryavtsev; U Koster; J. F. W. Lane; J. Lassen

doi:10.1038/ncomms2819

Measurement of the first ionization potential of astatine by laser ionization spectroscopy

S. Rothe, Andrei Andreyev, S. Antalic, A Borschevsky, L Capponi, T. E. Cocolios, H. De Witte, E Eliav, D. V. Fedorov, V N Fedosseev, D.A. Fink, S. Fritzsche, L. Ghys, M. Huyse, N. Imai, U. Kaldor, Yuri Kudryavtsev, U Koster, J. F. W. Lane, J. Lassen

Physics

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

The radioactive element astatine exists only in trace amounts in nature. Its properties can therefore only be explored by study of the minute quantities of artificially produced isotopes or by performing theoretical calculations. One of the most important properties influencing the chemical behaviour is the energy required to remove one electron from the valence shell, referred to as the ionization potential. Here we use laser spectroscopy to probe the optical spectrum of astatine near the ionization threshold. The observed series of Rydberg states enabled the first determination of the ionization potential of the astatine atom, 9.31751(8) eV. New ab initio calculations are performed to support the experimental result. The measured value serves as a benchmark for quantum chemistry calculations of the properties of astatine as well as for the theoretical prediction of the ionization potential of superheavy element 117, the heaviest homologue of astatine.

Original language	English
Article number	1835
Pages (from-to)	1-6
Number of pages	6
Journal	Nature Communications
Volume	4
Early online date	14 May 2013
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms2819
Publication status	Published - 2013

Keywords

Physical sciences
Atomic and molecular physics

Access to Document

10.1038/ncomms2819

http://www.nature.com/ncomms/journal/v4/n5/full/ncomms2819.html#abstract

Cite this

Rothe, S., Andreyev, A., Antalic, S., Borschevsky, A., Capponi, L., Cocolios, T. E., De Witte, H., Eliav, E., Fedorov, D. V., Fedosseev, V. N., Fink, D. A., Fritzsche, S., Ghys, L., Huyse, M., Imai, N., Kaldor, U., Kudryavtsev, Y., Koster, U., Lane, J. F. W., & Lassen, J. (2013). Measurement of the first ionization potential of astatine by laser ionization spectroscopy. Nature Communications, 4, 1-6. Article 1835. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms2819

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title = "Measurement of the first ionization potential of astatine by laser ionization spectroscopy",

abstract = "The radioactive element astatine exists only in trace amounts in nature. Its properties can therefore only be explored by study of the minute quantities of artificially produced isotopes or by performing theoretical calculations. One of the most important properties influencing the chemical behaviour is the energy required to remove one electron from the valence shell, referred to as the ionization potential. Here we use laser spectroscopy to probe the optical spectrum of astatine near the ionization threshold. The observed series of Rydberg states enabled the first determination of the ionization potential of the astatine atom, 9.31751(8) eV. New ab initio calculations are performed to support the experimental result. The measured value serves as a benchmark for quantum chemistry calculations of the properties of astatine as well as for the theoretical prediction of the ionization potential of superheavy element 117, the heaviest homologue of astatine.",

keywords = "Physical sciences, Atomic and molecular physics",

author = "S. Rothe and Andrei Andreyev and S. Antalic and A Borschevsky and L Capponi and Cocolios, {T. E.} and {De Witte}, H. and E Eliav and Fedorov, {D. V.} and Fedosseev, {V N} and D.A. Fink and S. Fritzsche and L. Ghys and M. Huyse and N. Imai and U. Kaldor and Yuri Kudryavtsev and U Koster and Lane, {J. F. W.} and J. Lassen",

year = "2013",

doi = "10.1038/ncomms2819",

language = "English",

volume = "4",

pages = "1--6",

journal = "Nature Communications",

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Rothe, S, Andreyev, A, Antalic, S, Borschevsky, A, Capponi, L, Cocolios, TE, De Witte, H, Eliav, E, Fedorov, DV, Fedosseev, VN, Fink, DA, Fritzsche, S, Ghys, L, Huyse, M, Imai, N, Kaldor, U, Kudryavtsev, Y, Koster, U, Lane, JFW & Lassen, J 2013, 'Measurement of the first ionization potential of astatine by laser ionization spectroscopy', Nature Communications, vol. 4, 1835, pp. 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms2819

TY - JOUR

T1 - Measurement of the first ionization potential of astatine by laser ionization spectroscopy

AU - Rothe, S.

AU - Andreyev, Andrei

AU - Antalic, S.

AU - Borschevsky, A

AU - Capponi, L

AU - Cocolios, T. E.

AU - De Witte, H.

AU - Eliav, E

AU - Fedorov, D. V.

AU - Fedosseev, V N

AU - Fink, D.A.

AU - Fritzsche, S.

AU - Ghys, L.

AU - Huyse, M.

AU - Imai, N.

AU - Kaldor, U.

AU - Kudryavtsev, Yuri

AU - Koster, U

AU - Lane, J. F. W.

AU - Lassen, J.

PY - 2013

Y1 - 2013

N2 - The radioactive element astatine exists only in trace amounts in nature. Its properties can therefore only be explored by study of the minute quantities of artificially produced isotopes or by performing theoretical calculations. One of the most important properties influencing the chemical behaviour is the energy required to remove one electron from the valence shell, referred to as the ionization potential. Here we use laser spectroscopy to probe the optical spectrum of astatine near the ionization threshold. The observed series of Rydberg states enabled the first determination of the ionization potential of the astatine atom, 9.31751(8) eV. New ab initio calculations are performed to support the experimental result. The measured value serves as a benchmark for quantum chemistry calculations of the properties of astatine as well as for the theoretical prediction of the ionization potential of superheavy element 117, the heaviest homologue of astatine.

AB - The radioactive element astatine exists only in trace amounts in nature. Its properties can therefore only be explored by study of the minute quantities of artificially produced isotopes or by performing theoretical calculations. One of the most important properties influencing the chemical behaviour is the energy required to remove one electron from the valence shell, referred to as the ionization potential. Here we use laser spectroscopy to probe the optical spectrum of astatine near the ionization threshold. The observed series of Rydberg states enabled the first determination of the ionization potential of the astatine atom, 9.31751(8) eV. New ab initio calculations are performed to support the experimental result. The measured value serves as a benchmark for quantum chemistry calculations of the properties of astatine as well as for the theoretical prediction of the ionization potential of superheavy element 117, the heaviest homologue of astatine.

KW - Physical sciences

KW - Atomic and molecular physics

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