The hyperfine structure of highly charged $^{238}_{92}$U ions with rotationally excited nuclei

Abstract

The hyperfine structure (hfs) of electron levels of $^{238}_{92}$U ions with the nucleus excited in the low-lying rotational $2^+$ state with an energy $E_{2^+} = 44.91$ keV is investigated. In hydrogenlike uranium, the hfs splitting for the $1s_{1/2}$-ground state of the electron constitutes 1.8 eV. The hyperfine-quenched (hfq) lifetime of the $1s2p ^3P_0$ state has been calculated for heliumlike $^{238}_{92}$U and was found to be two orders of magnitude smaller than for the ion with the nucleus in the ground state. The possibility of a precise determination of the nuclear $g_r$ factor for the rotational $2^+$ state by measurements of the hfq lifetime is discussed.