0000000000352135
AUTHOR
Xinzhao Chu
Fractional frequency collective parametric resonances of an ion cloud in a Paul trap
ion cloud ina Paul trap driven at simple fractions of twice the secular frequency of the trap by an additionally appliedquadrupole field. The fractional resonances are observable only if the excitation field surpasses a criticalstrength. Odd-even staggering of the thresholds is observed.@S1050-2947~98!51307-8#PACS number~s!: 32.80.Pj, 07.75.1h
Nonlinear collective oscillations of an ion cloud in a Paul trap
In an experiment using a Paul trap, we create a ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}^{+}$ ion cloud by electron ionization of the background gas at ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}9}$-mbar residual pressure. Exciting the ions parametrically at twice the frequency of the secular motion of ions in the $r$ or $z$ direction, we observe a narrow resonance at some distance from the motional resonance center if the amplitude of the exciting field exceeds a threshold value. The threshold value decreases with increasing ion number. Since the narrow resonance does not shift with ion number, we interpret it as a collective resonance of the center of mass of the ion cloud. The resonance shape exhibits the typical form of a driven a…
Shifts of the 3D - 4P transitions in different isotopes of positive calcium ions
A sample of stable isotopes containing the masses 40, 42, 43 and 44 was stored under buffer-gas conditions in a Paul ion trap. After population of the metastable 3D levels by spontaneous decay of the laser-excited 4P state we observed laser-induced fluorescence when we scanned a laser across the different 3D - 4P fine-structure lines at 850, 854 and 866 nm. From the Doppler-limited lines of these transitions we deduced the isotope shifts, which are of the order of several GHz due to the large specific mass shift of the metastable 3D levels.