Structure and Dynamics of High-Z Ions Studied at the ESR Storage Ring

The ESR storage ring offers unique conditions for precision investigations in the realm of atomic structure and collisions research at highest nuclear charges. For atomic structure studies, a very recent experiment will be discussed aiming on a precise determination of the electron–electron QED contribution to the groundstate ionization potential in He-like uranium. For the regime of collision dynamics, the close interplay between dynamics and atomic structure is outlined. Here, for the case of the 2p3/2→1s1/2 transition in H-like uranium, a strong interference between the E1 and M2 transition amplitudes has been identified which gives rise to a remarkable modification of the angular distribution of emitted photons.