Modelling of transient interference phenomena in collinear laser spectroscopy

Collinear laser spectroscopy of fast atomic beams has been established as one of the main tools to perform precision experiments with atoms containing short-lived nuclei. Although highly sensitive, the spectral resolution of these techniques is typically limited to several MHz. Here, we study the use of transient interference phenomena to potentially improve the experimental resolution. Previous attempts to implement Ramsey-type measurements with fast beams were limited by the lack of understanding of the observed line shapes. By using a simple model, we provide a satisfactory description of the previously observed line shapes, and propose alternative experimental schemes to improve the resolution in fast ion-beam experiments.