0000000000121994

AUTHOR

G. Werth

Precision Spectroscopy on Trapped Radioactive Ions: Ground-State Hyperfine Splittings of 133 Ba + and 131 Ba +

The ground-state hyperfine splitting of radioactive Ba+ isotopes of mass 133 and 131, confined in a r.f. quadrupole trap, has been measured by laser-microwave double resonances. The results are Δν(133) = 9 925 453 554.59(10) Hz and Δν(131) = 9 107 913 698.97 (50) Hz. The experiment, including measurements of systematic shifts, was performed on quantities of about 1012 isotopes, produced by nuclear reactions and collected at the ISOLDE facility at CERN. The precision is comparable to equivalent measurements on stable isotopes and demonstrates the high-sensitivity of the stored-ion technique. The experiment can be regarded as a first step to a systematic precision study of hyperfine anomalies…

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Quantum Computing with Trapped Charged Particles

The concept of quantum computing has no clear cut origin. It emerged from combinations of information theory and quantum mechanical concepts. A decisive step was taken by Feynman [414, 415] who considered the possibility of universal simulation, a quantum system which could simulate the physical behavior of any other. Feynman gave arguments which suggested that quantum evolution could be used to compute certain problems more efficiently than any classical computer. His device may be considered as not sufficiently specified to be called a computer. The next important step was taken in 1985 by Deutsch [310]. His proposal is generally considered to represent the first blueprint for a quantum c…

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Chapter 7 HITRAP: A Facility at GSI for Highly Charged Ions

Abstract An overview and status report of the new trapping facility for highly charged ions at the Gesellschaft fur Schwerionenforschung is presented. The construction of this facility started in 2005 and is expected to be completed in 2008. Once operational, highly charged ions will be loaded from the experimental storage ring ESR into the HITRAP facility, where they are decelerated and cooled. The kinetic energy of the initially fast ions is reduced by more than fourteen orders of magnitude and their thermal energy is cooled to cryogenic temperatures. The cold ions are then delivered to a broad range of atomic physics experiments.

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New Schemes for the Production and Spectroscopy of Positronium

The rate of positronium formation has been increased by 2–3 orders of magnitude using recently developed accelerator based slow positron sources. This opens the possibility of improvements of precision experiments on the Ps atom as well as new experiments on excited states. First evidence for enhanced metastable Ps formation is presented and future possibilities are discussed.

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Magnetic hyperfine spectrum of isolated (199Hg)+ Ions

The (199Hg)+ ions were stored in an RF quadrupole electric field and their ground state hyperfine populations pumped optically using the ion resonance radiation at 1942 A from a (202Hg) isotope enriched lamp. A microwave field at 40.5 GHz was phase-locked to the 1350th harmonic of the output of a frequency synthesizer, referenced to a Cs-beam frequency standard. Using a digital averager, a high background suppression optical system monitored the fluorescence light from the ions. Linewidths on the order of 3 Hz were observed for the “field-independent” 0-0 transition, and a value of 40, 507, 348, 051±50 Hz was deduced for the magnetic hyperfine interval, corrected to zero magnetic field.

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Penning traps as a versatile tool for precise experiments in fundamental physics

This review article describes the trapping of charged particles. The main principles of electromagnetic confinement of various species from elementary particles to heavy atoms are briefly described. The preparation and manipulation with trapped single particles, as well as methods of frequency measurements, providing unprecedented precision, are discussed. Unique applications of Penning traps in fundamental physics are presented. Ultra-precise trap-measurements of masses and magnetic moments of elementary particles (electrons, positrons, protons and antiprotons) confirm CPT-conservation, and allow accurate determination of the fine-structure constant alpha and other fundamental constants. T…

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Temperature dependence of slow-positron production and of positronium formation on untreated surfaces

Low-energy positron emission from tungsten moderators, placed at a electron accelerator beam stop slows down with increasing moderator temperature. Efficient positronium formation is reported on untreated and unoriented metal surfaces at higher target temperatures.

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Precision ground state Hfs-separation of137Ba

Ba+ ions are confined in a r.f. quadrupole trap for periods of 1 day. Spectral resolution of 1.5 · 10−9 has been achieved in an optical double resonance experiment to determine the ground state hfs separation of 8 GHz.

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New determination of the electron's mass.

A new independent value for the electron's mass in units of the atomic mass unit is presented, ${m}_{e}\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}=\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}0.0005485799092(4)\mathrm{u}$. The value is obtained from our recent measurement of the $g$ factor of the electron in ${}^{12}{\mathrm{C}}^{5+}$ in combination with the most recent quantum electrodynamical (QED) predictions. In the QED corrections, terms of order ${\ensuremath{\alpha}}^{2}$ were included by a perturbation expansion in $Z\ensuremath{\alpha}$. Our total precision is three times better than that of the accepted value for the electron's mass.

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High-precision measurement of the atomic mass of the electron

A very precise measurement of the magnetic moment of a single electron bound to a carbon nucleus, combined with a state-of-the-art calculation in the framework of bound-state quantum electrodynamics, gives a new value of the atomic mass of the electron that is more precise than the currently accepted one by a factor of 13. The atomic mass of the electron is a key parameter for fundamental physics. A precise determination is a challenge because the mass is so low. Sven Sturm and colleagues report on a new determination of the electron's mass in atomic units. The authors measured the magnetic moment of a single electron bound to a reference ion (a bare nucleus of carbon-12). The results were …

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Trapped ion density distribution in the presence of He-buffer gas

The spatial density distribution of Ba+ ions, confined in a rf quadrupole trap, has been measured by laser scanning across the trap. This allows to determine the ion temperature, assuming thermal equilibrium. Under UHV conditions the average ion energy has been found to be one tenth of the trap potential well depth. Collisions with He at pressures up to 5×10−6 mbar reduce the ion temperature by a factor of 3.

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On the sensitivity of ion traps for spectroscopic applications

Ba+ ions, created by surface ionization near one endcap of an rf quadrupole trap were slowed down by collisions with the background gas. At He pressures of 10−6 mbar or more 2% of the primary ions could be trapped. The sensitivity of ion detection by fluorescence radiation allows spectroscopic experiments, starting from less than 107 particles. The observation of the ground-state hyperfine splitting of137Ba+ is given as an example.

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Mass Spectroscopy in Penning Trap

While mass spectrometry in Paul traps serves well mainly for molecular analysis in chemistry, Penning traps provide high accuracy and precision. The technique is based on the fact that the ratio of cyclotron frequencies ω c = (Q/M)B of two ions in the same magnetic field B gives directly the ratio of their masses ω c(1)/ω c(2) = M(2)/M(1). If carbon-12 as the standard of the atomic mass scale is used as reference, the mass of the ion of interest is obtained directly in atomic units. Although the cyclotron frequency is not an eigenfrequency of the Penning trap, it can be obtained from combinations of ω+, ω, and ω z as evident from the set of equations (1.31)-(1.33). In the ideal case of a pe…

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Intense source of slow positrons from pulsed electron accelerators

A pulsed LINAC is used for pair production in a tantalum target of 2.5 radiation lengths in an energy range from 80 to 260 MeV. Several well-annealed tungsten vanes are placed immediately behind the target and thermalize a small fraction of the fast positrons. The slow positrons are extracted from the target region and magnetically guided over a distance of 17 m to the detector at the end of an S-shaped solenoid. Two Nal detectors with well-known detection efficiency are used to register the 511 keV annihilationγ-rays. To reduce pile-up effects 50 mm of Pb were placed in front of the detectors. At an average electron current of 1 μA we could detect about 107 slow positrons per second. The p…

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High-accuracy measurement of the magnetic moment anomaly of the electron bound in hydrogenlike carbon.

We present a new experimental value for the magnetic moment of the electron bound in hydrogenlike carbon (12C5+): g(exp) = 2.001 041 596 (5). This is the most precise determination of an atomic g(J) factor so far. The experiment was carried out on a single 12C5+ ion stored in a Penning trap. The high accuracy was made possible by spatially separating the induction of spin flips and the analysis of the spin direction. The current theoretical value amounts to g(th) = 2.001 041 591 (7). Together experiment and theory test the bound-state QED contributions to the g(J) factor of a bound electron to a precision of 1%.

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Double Penning trap technique for precise g factor determinations in highly charged ions

We present a detailed description of an experiment to determine the magnetic moment of an electron bound in hydrogen-like carbon. This forms a high-accuracy test of bound-state quantum electrodynamics. Special emphasis is given to the discussion of systematic uncertainties which limit our present accuracy. The described experimental setup may also be used for the determination of g factors in other highly charged ions.

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High-accuracy Penning trap mass measurements with stored and cooled exotic ions

The technique of Penning trap mass spectrometry is briefly reviewed particularly in view of precision experiments on unstable nuclei, performed at different facilities worldwide. Selected examples of recent results emphasize the importance of high-precision mass measurements in various fields of physics.

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High Resolution Mass Spectrometry of Light Ions in a Penning Trap

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Trapped Ion Spectroscopy

A single particle, at rest in free space, free of uncontrolled perturbations and at hand for infinitely long times would be the ideal subject for spectroscopic investigations. If the techniques for the preparation of such a particle are available, it becomes feasible to orient the system by a variety of reactions with photons, atoms, and electrons. Line broadening due to Doppler and observation time effects would be minimized.

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Mass Spectrometry Using Paul Traps

Mass is one of the basic quantities to characterize any material object, whether an atom, molecule, nucleus, or elementary particle. The measurement of mass therefore serves to detect and identify atomic, molecular, and nuclear species, and can help determine their structure and binding energy. For example, a precise determination of the mass of a nucleus is of importance through its binding energy, not only for various aspects of nuclear physics but also for other branches of physics, e.g. tests of the weak interaction, of quantum electrodynamics, and of the standard model [46]. Also in astrophysics the masses of unstable isotopes involved in stellar nucleosynthesis, especially the r proce…

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HITRAP: A Facility for Experiments with Trapped Highly Charged Ions

HITRAP is a planned ion trap facility for capturing and cooling of highly charged ions produced at GSI in the heavy-ion complex of the UNILAC-SIS accelerators and the ESR storage ring. In this facility heavy highly charged ions up to uranium will be available as bare nuclei, hydrogenlike ions or few-electron systems at low temperatures. The trap for receiving and studying these ions is designed for operation at extremely high vacuum by cooling to cryogenic temperatures. The stored highly charged ions can be investigated in the trap itself or can be extracted from the trap at energies up to about 10 keV/q. The proposed physics experiments are collision studies with highly charged ions at wel…

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Quantum Effects in Charged Particle Traps

It is a fundamental feature of quantum mechanics that a group of particles can be in a state described by one common wavefunction which cannot be factored into individual particle wavefunctions; they are then said to be in an entangled state [294-296]. A measurement of the state of a constituent part of the entangled system determines the state of all the others. In a system that is not entangled, the states of the individual particles are determined independently. Ions isolated and trapped in vacuo in electromagnetic fields provide an unparalleled means of realizing long-lived entangled quantum states [297] through the coupling of the normal modes of oscillation in the trap by the long ran…

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Lifetime Measurements of Metastable States in Ions

As pointed out by Dehmelt in 1973, optical transitions between ground- and metastable states of ions offer intrinsically very narrow natural lines and consequently may be used as frequency references in the optical domain. Several ions are considered as possible candidates and the measurement of their metastable state lifetime is being discussed. In the submillimeter region fine structure transitions between metastable ionic states have natural line-Q’s of the order of 1012. We propose to use Ca+ as a possible candidate to induce and detect such a transition.

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Continuous Stern–Gerlach Effect on Atomic Ions

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Observation of the Continuous Stern-Gerlach Effect on an Electron Bound in an Atomic Ion

We report on the first observation of the continuous Stern-Gerlach effect on an electron bound in an atomic ion. The measurement was performed on a single hydrogenlike ion ( 12C5+) in a Penning trap. The measured g factor of the bound electron, g = 2.001 042(2), is in excellent agreement with the theoretical value, confirming the relativistic correction at a level of 0.1%. This proves the possibility of g-factor determinations on atomic ions to high precision by using the continuous Stern-Gerlach effect. The result demonstrates the feasibility of conducting experiments on single heavy highly charged ions to test quantum electrodynamics in the strong electric field of the nucleus.

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High-precision measurement of the proton's atomic mass

We report on the precise measurement of the atomic mass of a single proton with a purpose-built Penning-trap system. With a precision of 32 parts-per-trillion our result not only improves on the current CODATA literature value by a factor of three, but also disagrees with it at a level of about 3 standard deviations.

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Precise determination of the ground state hyperfine splitting of135Ba+

A microwave-optical double resonance experiment has been performed on135Ba+ ions, confined in a r.f. quadrupole trap. Linewidths as narrow as 0.9 Hz have been obtained on the 7.18 GHz,F=1,m=0 toF=2,m=0 transition. Shifts of the resonance frequency due to magnetic stray fields and the electric trapping field have been observed. The final result, extrapolated to zero field strengths, isΔ υHFS=7183340234.90(0.57) Hz.

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PRECISE DETERMINATION OF 135Ba+ AND 137Ba+ HYPERFINE STRUCTURE

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Principles of Ion Traps

Three-dimensional confinement of charged particles requires a potential energy minimum at some point in space in order that the corresponding force is directed toward that point in all three dimensions. In general, the dependence of the magnitude of this force on the coordinates can have an arbitrary form; however, it is convenient to have a binding force that is harmonic, since this simplifies the analytical description of the particle motion. Thus, we assume

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Lifetime Studies in Traps

A knowledge of the radiative lifetimes of excited atomic states is of wide interest, not only in the detailed understanding of intrinsic atomic structure and dynamics but also in the fields of plasma diagnostics and astrophysics. The transition rates of intercombination and electric-dipole forbidden lines are of particular importance, since their low transition probability gives them long optical depths in plasmas and astrophysical environments.

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Cooling and stabilization by collisions in a mixed ion–atom system

In mixed systems of trapped ions and cold atoms, the ions and atoms can coexist at different temperatures. This is primarily due to their different trapping and cooling mechanisms. The key questions of how ions can cool collisionally with cold atoms and whether the combined system allows stable coexistence, need to be answered. Here we experimentally demonstrate that rubidium ions cool in contact with magneto-optically trapped rubidium atoms, contrary to the general experimental expectation of ion heating. The cooling process is explained theoretically and substantiated with numerical simulations, which include resonant charge exchange collisions. The mechanism of single collision swap cool…

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Determination of the electron’s mass from g -factor experiments on 12 C 5+ and 16 O 7+

Abstract We present a derivation of the electron’s mass from our experiment on the electronic g factor in 12C5+ and 16O7+ together with the most recent quantum electrodynamical predictions. The value obtained from 12C5+ is me=0.0005485799093(3) u, that from oxygen is me=0.0005485799092(5) u. Both values agree with the currently accepted one within 1.5 standard deviations but are four respectively two-and-a-half times more precise. The contributions to the uncertainties of our values and perspectives for the determination of the fine-structure constant α by an experiment on the bound-electron g factor are discussed.

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Experimental determination of the ortho-positronium lifetime in vacuum

Moderated positrons from a22Na source form positronium atoms at the surface of a channel plate multiplier in a weak magnetic field. They decay inside a finite volume and the decay quanta are registered by ten plastic scintillation detectors and counted in a fast data acquisition system with zero deadtime. After corrections for the escape of atoms from the observation volume and for prompt annihilation back-ground we obtain a lifetime of (142.22±0.14) ns. This is in fair agreement with the theoretical value of 142.07 ns but larger than previous experimental determinations. A possible correction from annihilation at the walls of the decay chamber would further increase the lifetime.

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