Novel applications of high-energy resolution ion beams

Abstract Improvements in targetry and ion beam energy resolution permit the observation of novel effects using narrow nuclear resonances as a probe. For the 400 kV Munster accelerator the ion-beam energy resolution was reduced to 15–20 eV at full ion-beam current. The development of UHV, vapor, and gas target systems allowed the use of very clean targets with variable density and temperature. With the energy spread of the ion beam approaching the eV level, the dynamics of the nuclear environment (atomic shells and solid material) become observable. Some novel applications in nuclear, atomic, molecular, and solid state physics are discussed.