Progress toward identifying atomic transitions in lawrencium

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

In recent years, significant efforts have been made to investigate the atomic structure of lawrencium (Lr, $$Z=103$$ Z = 103 )—the heaviest actinide element—using laser spectroscopy. This article presents the current status of the experimental search for atomic transitions in lawrencium at GSI, Darmstadt, Germany, along with the necessary developments toward achieving laser spectroscopy of this element. We have advanced the method of radiation-detected resonance ionization spectroscopy (RADRIS), which has previously enabled the first laser spectroscopic studies of nobelium. We have conducted essential preparatory studies, demonstrating that lawrencium can be efficiently evaporated from hafnium filaments. Using two-step laser resonance ionization, we scanned a spectral range of approximately 800 cm ⁻¹ - 1 around each of two different, theoretically predicted strong atomic transitions. Based on the measured background and the determined system efficiency, we demonstrate that our experimental setup is sensitive enough to detect these atomic transitions, albeit no atomic transitions have been observed to date.