The HITRAP project at GSI: trapping and cooling of highly-charged ions in a Penning trap

A decelerator will be installed at GSI in order to provide and study heavy nuclei without or with only few electrons at very low energies or even at rest. Highly-charged ions will be produced by stripping at relativistic energies. After electron cooling and deceleration in the Experimental Storage Ring (ESR) the ions are ejected out of the storage ring at 4 MeV/u and further decelerated in a combination of linear accelerator structures operated in reverse. Finally, they are injected into a Penning trap where the ions are cooled to 4 K by electron cooling in combination with resistive cooling. From here, the ions can be transferred in a quasi DC or in a pulsed mode to different experimental setups. This article describes the technical concepts of this project focused on the Penning trap.      

Penning阱中离子运动的分析

根据Penning离子阱结构及电磁场分布特点,列出阱内离子运动方程并进行求解,对其中沿z轴运动和在xy平面上的运动进行详细分析,最后得到比荷为m/q的离子在Penning阱内的运动为沿磁场方向的简谐振动、绕磁感线旋转的回旋运动和垂直于z轴及径向绕z轴的漂移运动的叠加.     

Motional frequencies in a planar Penning trap

A Penning trap consisting of concentric ring electrodes on a substrate and a magnetic field perpendicular to the substrate plane has been loaded with electrons. In order to demonstrate the performance of the trap we have measured the motional frequencies of the trapped electrons. Frequencies, line shape and width agree well with simulations. Miniaturization of the device is at hand which opens novel possibilities for application in quantum computing. Contribution presented at the TCP06, Vancouver Island, 2006-09-21     

电子束离子阱中高价态离子演化过程的数值模拟

讨论了电子束离子阱(EBIT)中决定高价态离子演化过程的主要物理机制.对EBIT中高价态离 子的演化过程进行了详细的数值计算并与实验进行了比较.讨论了EBIT各种不同的运行参数 对平衡时高价态离子相对丰度和温度的影响. 关键词： 电子束离子阱 高价态离子 数值模拟     

Penning阱中Hn+团簇离子的检测与确认

报道了在Penning阱中检测与确认Hn 团簇离子的方法,介绍了离子在阱中的运动,重点分析了离子存储条件、离子的产生与探测、离子信号的放大与检波以及离子谱的分辨.     

Structure and control of Coulomb crystals in a Penning trap

We apply rotating electric fields to ion plasmas in a Penning trap to obtain phase-locked rotation about the magnetic field axis. These plasmas, containing up to 10^{6 9}Be⁺ ions, are laser-cooled to millikelvin temperatures so that they freeze into solids. Single body-centered cubic (bcc) crystals have been observed by Bragg scattering in nearly spherical plasmas with ≳ 2 × 10⁵ ions. The detection of the Bragg patterns is synchronized with the plasma rotation, so individual peaks are observed. With phase-locked rotation, the crystal lattice and its orientation can be stable for longer than 30 min or ∼10⁸ rotations. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Optimal design of a 7 T highly homogeneous superconducting magnet for a Penning trap

A Penning trap system called Lanzhou Penning Trap（LPT） is now being developed for precise mass measurements at the Institute of Modern Physics（IMP）.One of the key components is a 7 T actively shielded superconducting magnet with a clear warm bore of 156 mm.The required field homogeneity is 3 × 10-7 over two 1 cubic centimeter volumes lying 220 mm apart along the magnet axis.We introduce a two-step method which combines linear programming and a nonlinear optimization algorithm for designing the multi-section superconducting magnet.This method is fast and flexible for handling arbitrary shaped homogeneous volumes and coils.With the help of this method an optimal design for the LPT superconducting magnet has been obtained.     

Optimal design of a 7 T highly homogeneous superconducting magnet for a Penning trap

A Penning trap system called Lanzhou Penning Trap (LPT) is now being developed for precise mass measurements at the Institute of Modern Physics (IMP). One of the key components is a 7 T actively shielded superconducting magnet with a clear warm bore of 156 mm. The required field homogeneity is 3×10-7 over two 1 cubic centimeter volumes lying 220 mm apart along the magnet axis. We introduce a two-step method which combines linear programming and a nonlinear optimization algorithm for designing the multi-section superconducting magnet. This method is fast and flexible for handling arbitrary shaped homogeneous volumes and coils. With the help of this method an optimal design for the LPT superconducting magnet has been obtained.     

Recent research using the Oxford electron beam ion trap

The presence of the σ-phase in Fe-Cr alloys (eg. Stainless steel) is important in industrial applications and from an academic point of view. The presence of the σ-phase in these alloys drastically affects their mechanical properties and their resistance to various corrosive media. In the present investigation Fe-Cr alloys containing different amounts of Mo were prepared and the transformation to the σ-phase was carried out by isothermally annealing the samples for various periods in an argon atmosphere. It will be shown that the presence of Mo has a dramatic accelerating effect on the rate of the σ-phase formation in these alloys. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

电子束离子阱光谱标定和Ar13+离子M1跃迁波长精密测量

高电荷态离子精细结构跃迁波长的精密测量不仅可以检验量子电动力学(quantum electrodynamics,QED)效应、电子关联效应等基本物理模型,还能够为天体物理、聚变等离子体物理甚至高电荷态离子光钟等研究提供关键原子物理数据.本工作基于复旦大学现代物理研究所的高温超导电子束离子阱(SHHtscEBIT)装置,搭建了一套新的光谱校刻系统,并结合内校刻与外校刻的方法对其光谱波长测量的不确定度进行了评估,新的光谱校刻系统在可见光波段引起的波长不确定度最低达到0.002 nm.在此基础上,使用SH-HtscEBIT装置结合新的校刻系统开展了Ar1³⁺离子1s²2s²2p²P_1/2—²P_3/2磁偶极跃迁(M1)波长的精密测量,实验测得该跃迁波长为(441.2567±0.0026) nm,是目前SH-HtscEBIT上测量精度最高的实验结果,为下一步开展高电荷态离子超精细分裂和同位素位移等精密测量实验奠定了基础.     

A high-current electron beam ion trap as an on-line charge breeder for the high precision mass measurement TITAN experiment

The precision of atomic mass measurements in a Penning trap is directly proportional to the charge state q of the ion and, hence, can be increased by using highly charged ions (HCI). For this reason, charge breeding with an electron beam ion trap (EBIT) is employed at TRIUMF’s Ion Trap for Atomic and Nuclear science (TITAN) on-line facility in Vancouver, Canada. By bombarding the injected and trapped singly charged ions with an intense beam of electrons, the charge state of the ions is rapidly increased inside the EBIT. To be compatible with the on-line requirements of short-lived isotopes, very high electron beam current densities are needed. The TITAN EBIT includes a 6 Tesla superconducting magnet and is designed to have electron beam currents and energies of up to 5 A and 60 keV, respectively. Once operational at full capacity, most species can be bred into a He-like configuration within tens of ms. Subsequently, the HCI are extracted, pass a Wien filter to reduce isobaric contamination, are cooled, and injected into a precision Penning trap for mass measurement. We will present the first results and current status of the TITAN EBIT, which has recently been moved to TRIUMF after assembly and commissioning at the Max-Planck-Institute (MPI) for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg, Germany.     

Penning trap mass spectrometry for nuclear structure studies

High-precision mass measurements as performed at the Penning trap mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP at ISOLDE/CERN are an important contribution to the investigation of nuclear structure. Precise nuclear masses with less than 0.1 ppm relative mass uncertainty allow stringent tests of mass models and formulae that are used to predict mass values of nuclides far from the valley of stability. Furthermore, an investigation of nuclear structure effects like shell or sub-shell closures, deformations, and halos is possible. In addition to a sophisticated experimental setup for precise mass measurements, a radioactive ion-beam facility that delivers a large variety of short-lived nuclides with sufficient yield is required. An overview of the results from the mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP is given and its limits and possibilities are described.      

Recent Progress with the SMILETRAP Penning Mass Spectrometer

The Penning trap mass spectrometer SMILETRAP has been considerably improved during the last two years. The helium pressure has been carefully stabilized and is now independent of irregular air pressure. The temperature of the hyperboloidal precision trap is stabilized to ±0.03°C. Remaining temperature instabilities are compensated by changes in the current of a warm coil surrounding the precision trap. The frequency synthesizer is now locked to GPS. This means that it is much easier to accurately measure resonances during several days. The improvements have demonstrated that in mass doublet measurements with an excitation time of 1 s it is possible to determine the mass of ions with q/A=1/2 at an uncertainty to a few times of 0.1 ppb, using selected rather than cooled ions. In routine measurements lasting for one day it is possible to reach a mass uncertainty of 1 ppb. The masses of the following particles and atoms have been measured with uncertainties in the region 0.3–2 ppb: p, ³H, ³He, ⁴He, ²²Ne, ²⁸Si, ³⁶Ar, ⁷⁶Ge, ⁷⁶Se, ⁸⁶Kr and ¹³³Cs. It has also been shown that though we are using a warm bore the trap pressure is sufficiently low to prevent electron capture from the rest gas for excitation times of 3 s and for ion charges as high as 50+. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Resonant electron impact excitation of highly charged Fe ions studied with a compact electron beam ion trap

We present extreme ultraviolet spectra of 3s3p–3s3d transitions in Fe¹⁴⁺ observed with a compact electron beam ion trap. The contributions of indirect excitation via a metastable state and resonant excitation are studied by observing the electron energy dependence of the spectra for the energy range of 60–210 eV. The results indicate that the 3s3d ¹D₂ level is directly excited from the 3s² ground state whereas the 3s3d ³D₃ level has a large contribution of the indirect excitation via the 3s3p ³P₂ metastable state. Comparisons with the theoretical excitation cross sections including MNn resonant excitations show good qualitative agreement with the experimental results for the electron energy dependent features.     

Q value related mass determinations using a Penning trap

We report here about measurements of reaction and decay Q values by precise determination of pairs of atomic masses. These were performed with the Penning trap mass spectrometer SMILETRAP. Measurements with Penning traps give reliable and accurate masses, in particular Q values, due to the fact that certain systematic errors to a great deal cancel in the mass difference between the two atoms defining the Q value. Some Q values that are of fundamental interest will be discussed here, for example, a new Q value for the ⁶Li (n,γ) ⁷Li reaction, for the β-decay of tritium, related to properties of the electron neutrino mass, and for the neutrino-less double β-decay of ⁷⁶Ge, related to the question of whether the neutrino is a Majorana particle or not. In case of the latter two we report the most accurate Q values, namely 18,589.8(12) eV for the tritium decay and 2,038.997(46) keV for the neutrino-less double β-decay of ⁷⁶Ge.     

A cooler ion trap for the TITAN on-line trapping facility at TRIUMF

We present simulations of electron and proton cooling of highly charged ions in a Penning trap, including the potentially detrimental effects of radiative, dielectronic, and three-body recombination in electron cooling. We show a preliminary design for a cooler trap accommodating both electron and proton cooling, which will be a component of the TITAN ion-trap facility under construction at TRIUMF for precision mass measurements of short-lived radioactive nuclei.      

Electron Magnetic Moment in Highly Charged Ions: The ARTEMIS Experiment

The magnetic moment (g‐factor) of the electron is a fundamental quantity in physics that can be measured with high accuracy by spectroscopy in Penning traps. Its value has been predicted by theory, both for the case of the free (unbound) electron and for the electron bound in a highly charged ion. Precision measurements of the electron magnetic moment yield a stringent test of these predictions and can in turn be used for a determination of fundamental constants such as the fine structure constant or the atomic mass of the electron. For the bound‐electron magnetic‐moment measurement, two complementary approaches exist, one via the so‐called “continuous Stern–Gerlach effect”, applied to ions with zero‐spin nuclei, and one a spectroscopic approach, applied to ions with nonzero nuclear spin. Here, the latter approach is detailed, and an overview of the experiment and its status is given.     

The Canadian Penning Trap Spectrometer at Argonne

The Canadian Penning Trap (CPT) mass spectrometer is a device used for high-precision mass measurements on short-lived isotopes. It is located at the ATLAS superconducting heavy-ion linac facility where a novel injection system, the RF gas cooler, allows fast reaction products to be decelerated, thermalized and bunched for rapid and efficient injection into the CPT. The CPT spectrometer and its injection system will be described in detail and its unique capabilities with respect to its initial physics program, concentrating on isotopes around the N=Z line with particular emphasis on isotopes of interest to low-energy tests of the electroweak interaction and the rp-process, will be highlighted. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Temperature measurement of a single ion in a Penning trap

The present work is concerned with the association of a temperature to a single ion stored in a Penning ion trap. Several methods are described which allow to determine the temperature by measurements of the ions cyclotron and axial trapping frequencies. Recent results of a measurement on a hydrogen-like carbon ion ¹²C^{5 +} by use of mode coupling are presented and possible further applications are discussed.Received: 8 July 2004, Published online: 6 December 2004PACS: 07.20.-n. Thermal instruments and apparatus - 07.20.Dt. Thermometers - 42.50.Lc Quantum fluctuations - 42.50.Vk Mechanical effects of light on ions     

Octupolar excitation of ion motion in a penning trap

The excitation of the motion of ions in a Penning trap at twice their cyclotron frequency, 2ν _c , by means of an azimuthal octupolar RF field has been studied with the LEBIT facility at the NSCL. The possibility of such an RF octupolar excitation has been verified. Compared to ion excitation at ν _c by means of quadrupolar fields an increased resolving power is observed in the cyclotron resonance curves, which may have important implications for Penning trap mass measurements. Numerical simulations have been used to characterize important properties of this type of excitation in detail and to predict the behavior of the ion motion under realistic conditions. Good agreement with the experimental results is observed.