Parts-per-million-accurate determination of the K${\alpha}$ photoionization resonance of Be-like oxygen with resolution of its $^{16}$O-$^{18}$O isotopic shift

We determine with high accuracy the energy of the inner-shell transition $1s^2 2s^2~{}^1\mathrm{S}_0 \rightarrow 1s~2s^2~2p_{3/2}~{}^1\mathrm{P}_1$ ${}^{16}\mathrm{O}_{K\alpha}^{4+}$ at $554.372(3)~\mathrm{eV}$ ($\lambda$ = $22.36480(12)~\unicode{x212B}$) as well as its small shift of $2.2 \pm 1.3~\mathrm{meV}$ ($\Delta \lambda$ = $0.089(52)~\mathrm{m}\unicode{x212B}$) for the ${}^{18}\mathrm{O}$ isotope.

This transition blends with a $K_\alpha$ line of $\mathrm{O}^{5+}$ used in astrophysical diagnostics, potentially affecting its reliability.

In contrast to our experimental uncertainty of $\pm 3~\mathrm{meV}$, advanced electronic structure predictions for this four-electron system, including quantum electrodynamic (QED) corrections on the order of $100~\mathrm{meV}$, still scatter by more than $\pm 250~\mathrm{meV}$.

Ions generated and stored in an electron beam ion trap were excited at the ELETTRA synchrotron facility with monochromatic soft x rays, with photon energies corrected by an additional spectrometer.

Upon resonant excitation of $\mathrm{O}^{4+}$ and subsequent autoionization, we separate the photoions of each isotope by a time-of-flight measurement.

This way, we resolve soft x-ray isotopic shifts of a few meV, obtain very accurate data on an essential astrophysical ion, and test calculations down to the level of QED contributions.