Charge state evolution in electron beam ion trap

Recently, at the M. Smoluchowski Institute of Physics of the Jagiellonian University a commercial electron beam ion trap (EBIT) was installed for teaching and scientific purposes. The first experiments were focused on observation of radiative recombination and dielectronic recombination. An investigation of higher order resonant recombination processes was also initiated. These recombination processes depend strongly on the charge state of the ions involved in these processes. The EBIT plasma contains always a mixture of different charge states. Therefore, the charge-state distribution of the ions is crucial for the observed atomic processes. A new diagnostics tool for this distribution and a possibility of its manipulation form the main goal of the present paper which may help to better understand the processes investigated with an EBIT.