The isotope shifts of forbidden transitions in Be- and B-like argon ions are calculated. It is shown that only using the relativistic recoil operator can provide a proper evaluation of the mass isotope shift, which strongly dominates over the field isotope shift for the ions under consideration. Comparing the isotope shifts calculated with the current experimental uncertainties indicates very good perspectives for a first test of the relativistic theory of the recoil effect in middle-Z ions

We report the first measurements and detailed analysis of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) spectra (4 nm to 20 nm) of highly-charged tungsten ions W 54+ to W 63+ obtained with an electron beam ion trap (EBIT). Collisional-radiative modelling is used to identify strong electric-dipole and magnetic-dipole transitions in all ionization stages. These lines can be used for impurity transport studies and temperature diagnostics in fusion reactors, such as ITER. Identifications of prominent lines from several W ions were confirmed by measurement of isoelectronic EUV spectra of Hf, Ta, and Au. We also discuss the importance of charge exchange recombination for correct description of ionization balance in the EBIT plasma.

An electron-beam ion trap (EBIT) is used to measure extreme ultraviolet spectra between 10 and 25 nm from highly charged ions of tungsten with an open 3d shell (W XLVIII through W LVI ). We found that almost all strong lines are due to the forbidden magnetic-dipole (M1) transitions within 3d n ground configurations. A total of 37 previously unknown spectral lines are identified using detailed collisional-radiative (CR) modeling of the EBIT spectra. A level-merging scheme for compactification of rate equations is described. The CR simulations for Maxwellian plasmas show that several line ratios involving these M1 lines can be used to reliably diagnose temperature and density in hot fusion devices.

We present the results of an experimental study of magnetic dipole (M1) transitions in highly charged argon ions (Ar X, Ar XI, Ar XIV, Ar XV) in the visible spectral range using an electron beam ion trap. Their wavelengths were determined with, for highly charged ions, unprecedented accuracy up to the sub-ppm level and compared with theoretical calculations. The QED contributions, calculated in this Letter, are found to be 4 orders of magnitude larger than the experimental error and are absolutely indispensable to bring theory and experiment to a good agreement. This method shows great potential for the study of QED effects in relativistic few-electron systems.