Design of a laser neutral atom source for a collective accelerator

Possible schemes are considered for storing and accelerating ions in electron rings using the collective heavy-ion accelerator (CHIA) at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Studies at Dubna. It is shown that the system can be supplied with ions by injecting a pulsed beam of atoms from a laser source into the electron ring. Tests of the laser source reveal that atomic beams of various elements can be produced which are well suited for use with the accelerator. The design and operation of some laser sources are discussed.