TITAN: An ion trap facility for on-line mass measurement experiments

Precision determinations of ground state or even isomeric state masses reveal fingerprints of nuclear structure. In particular, at the limits of existence for very neutron-rich or -deficient isotopes, one can extract detailed information about nuclear structure from separation energies or binding energies. Mass measurements are important to uncover new phenomena, to test new theoretical predictions, or to refine model approaches. For example, the N?=?28 shell has proven more stable than previously expected; however, the predicted new “magic” number at N?=?34 in the K and Ca isotopes has yet to be confirmed experimentally. For these neutron-rich nuclei, the inclusion of three-body forces leads to significantly better predictions of the ground-state mass. Similarly, halo nuclei present an excellent application for ab-initio theory, where ground state properties, like masses and radii, test our understanding of nuclear structure. Precision mass determinations at TRIUMF are carried out with the TITAN (TRIUMF’s Ion Traps for Atomic and Nuclear science) facility. It is an ion-trap setup coupled to the on-line facility ISAC. TITAN has measured masses of isotopes as short-lived as 9 ms (almost an order of magnitude shorter-lived than any other Penning trap system), and it is the only one with charge breeding capabilities, which allow us to boost the precision by almost 2 orders of magnitude. We recently made use of this feature by measuring short-lived, proton-rich Rb-isotopes, up to ⁷⁴Rb while reaching the 12?+ charge state, which together with other improvements led to an increase in precision by a factor 36.     

Heating rate and electrode charging measurements in a scalable, microfabricated, surface-electrode ion trap

We characterise the performance of a surface-electrode ion “chip” trap fabricated using established semiconductor integrated circuit and micro-electro-mechanical-system (MEMS) microfabrication processes, which are in principle scalable to much larger ion trap arrays, as proposed for implementing ion trap quantum information processing. We measure rf ion micromotion parallel and perpendicular to the plane of the trap electrodes, and find that on-package capacitors reduce this to ?10?nm in amplitude. We also measure ion trapping lifetime, charging effects due to laser light incident on the trap electrodes, and the heating rate for a single trapped ion. The performance of this trap is found to be comparable with others of the same size scale.     

All-optical ion generation for ion trap loading

We have investigated the all-optical generation of ions by photo-ionisation of atoms generated by pulsed laser ablation. A direct comparison between a resistively heated oven source and pulsed laser ablation is reported. Pulsed laser ablation with 10 ns Nd:YAG laser pulses is shown to produce large calcium flux, corresponding to atomic beams produced with oven temperatures greater than 650 K. For an equivalent atomic flux, pulsed laser ablation is shown to produce a thermal load more than one order of magnitude smaller than the oven source. The atomic beam distributions obey Maxwell–Boltzmann statistics with most probable speeds corresponding to temperatures greater than 2200 K. Below a threshold pulse fluence between 280 mJ/cm² and 330 mJ/cm², the atomic beam is composed exclusively of ground-state atoms. For higher fluences ions and excited atoms are generated.     

表面离子阱的衬底效应模型研究及新型离子阱设计

通过分析表面离子阱衬底的功率损失和电势损失对离子阱阱深和离子加热速率的影响,提出考虑衬底效应的阱深和离子加热速率的解析分析模型.研究发现,硅基衬底的电势损失对表面离子阱阱深的降幅达17.19%,功率损失对离子加热速率的加速达13.37%.为了降低衬底效应的不利影响,设计了衬底真空隔离结构的表面离子阱,在离子阱射频电极和直流电极间的衬底表面刻蚀出多条隔离槽,从而减小衬底的等效电导和等效电容,达到降低衬底功率和电势损失的目的.模拟结果显示,相比于一般结构,真空隔离结构的硅基表面离子阱能够使阱深加深20.22%,使衬底功率损失降低54.55%.     

Quantum entanglement in a two—dimensional ion trap

In this paper,we investigate the quantum entanglement in a two-dimensional ion trap system.we discuss the quantum entanglement between the ion and phonons by using reduced entropy,and that between two degrees of freedom of the vibrational motion along x and y directions by using quantum relative entropy.We discuss also the influence of initial state of the system on the quantum entanglement and the relation between two entanglements in the trapped ion system.     

Strongly enhanced mode selection in a thin dielectric-coated layered microcavity laser

Strong mode selection through an enhanced interferential coupling effect was observed in a thin dielectric-coated layered cylindrical microcavity laser. The strong coupling effect was induced owing to an enhanced reflectivity of around 50% at the dielectric-coated inner boundary of a fused silica capillary filled with a dye-doped liquid. At an optimized coating thickness of about 0.4 microm, the lasing peaks appeared only at the wavelengths corresponding to the constructive interference condition, whereas those from a bare capillary were weakly modulated.     

Quantum chaos of an ion trapped in a linear ion trap

We describe the transition to quantum chaos of an ion trapped in a linear ion trap and interacting with two laser fields. Under the conditions of adiabatic illumination of the upper level of the ion, and when the frequencies of the two laser beams are slightly different, the system is reduced to a quantum linear oscillator interacting with a monochromatic wave. The property of localization over the quantum resonance cells is proposed to exploit in order to facilitate the process of measurement of the probability distribution of an ion on the vibrational levels. In the regime of strong chaos the time-averaged values of the energy and dispersion of energy are computed and compared with the corresponding classical quantities for different values of the perturbation amplitude. In the exact resonance case, the classical analog of the system possesses an infinite inhomogeneous stochastic web. We analyze the quantum dynamics inside the inhomogeneous web. It is shown that the quantum system mimics on average the dynamics of the corresponding classical system. Formation of the quantum resonance cells is illustrated in the case of a finite detuning from the exact resonance, and under increasing of the wave amplitude. The parameters of the model and the initial conditions are close to the real physical situation which can be realized in the system of cold trapped ion perturbed by two lasers fields with close frequencies. (c) 2000 American Institute of Physics.     

Detecting vacuum entanglement in a linear ion trap

We propose and study a method for detecting ground-state entanglement in a chain of trapped ions. We show that the entanglement between single ions or groups of ions can be swapped to the internal levels of two ions by sending laser pulses that couple the internal and motional degrees of freedom. This allows us to entangle two ions without actually performing gate operations. A proof of principle of the effect can be realized with two trapped ions and is feasible with current technology.     

Planar ion trap geometry for microfabrication

We describe a novel high aspect ratio radiofrequency linear ion trap geometry that is amenable to modern microfabrication techniques. The ion trap electrode structure consists of a pair of stacked conducting cantilevers resulting in confining fields that take the form of fringe fields from parallel plate capacitors. The confining potentials are modeled both analytically and numerically. This ion trap geometry may form the basis for large scale quantum computers or parallel quadrupole mass spectrometers. PACS 39.25.+k; 03.67.Lx; 07.75.+h; 07.10+Cm     

Beta-decay experiments of neutral atoms in a magneto-optical trap

Magneto optical traps (MOT) allow the cooling and storing of neutral atoms in a volume of a few cubic millimeters by use of laser beams and a magnetic field. Such devices offer new and exciting opportunities for precision measurements of radioactive isotopes. Here we present experiments performed with a double-MOT system coupled to the on-line separator TISOL at TRIUMF/Vancouver, Canada. For the first time, the Β-decay of free atoms stored in such a device could be observed. We report on coincidence measurements between beta-particles and the argon recoils in the decay of ³⁷K and ³⁸rm{m}}K. The charge state ratios of the recoil-ions were deduced by Time-Of-Flight separation in an acceleration field. The final goal of those investigations is a precision test of the Standard Model by measuring the –nu-correlation parameter a. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Calculating damping effects for the ion motion in a Penning trap

In this note a simple idea is suggested to calculate the effect of damping on the ion motion in a Penning trap. The analysis is restricted to the experimentally important special case that the axial motion (z-direction) is not coupled to that in the xy-plane, so that both motions can be treated separately. The method views the cyclotron frequency ω_c as a complex variable that can be continued analytically from real values (undamped case) into the complex plane. The power of the approach becomes obvious in connection with advanced problems such as the calculation of line profiles for quadrupole excitation.     

Paul阱中存储离子的研究

根据Paul离子阱结构及电场分布特点,列出阱内离子运动方程并求解,对其中离子运动、硅团簇离子碰撞解离反应进行了分析.     

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.     

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.      

A single trapped ion in a finite range trap

This paper presents a method to describe dynamics of an ion confined in a realistic finite range trap. We model this realistic potential with a solvable one and we obtain dynamical variables (raising and lowering operators) of this potential. We consider coherent interaction of this confined ion in a finite range trap and we show that its center-of-mass motion steady state is a special kind of nonlinear coherent states. Physical properties of this state and their dependence on the finite range of potential are studied.