Aspects of fundamental physics in precision spectroscopy of highly charged ions in Penning traps

Abstract

Highly charged ions, in particular hydrogen-like ions, are simple systems which allow to observe a number of fundamental processes and quantities within physics at low energies. This comprises electromagnetic transitions in the fine and hyperfine structures, magnetic moments of bound electrons and ionic nuclei as well as the atomic mass of the electron and the value of the fine structure constant. In highly charged ions, the bound electrons are subjected to extreme fields which generate a number of interesting features. High precision is achieved by ion confinement in Penning traps where cooling of the ion motion and trap-specific manipulation and measurement techniques can be applied. This work reports on spectroscopy experiments for precision studies of highly charged ions in Penning traps and their connection to fundamental symmetries and constants.

Electron Magnetic Moment in Highly Charged Ions: The ARTEMIS Experiment

“…Comparisons of precise measurements with similarly precise predictions by theory allow one to benchmark the underlying calculations and models, or in turn to extract fundamental quantities. For the electron bound in a highly charged ion, this concerns the fine structure constant, the atomic mass of the electron, and properties of the ion's nucleus …”

Scientific Opportunities with an X-ray Free-Electron Laser Oscillator

“…few-electron atoms and ions. Since QED effects scale rapidly with nuclear charge, precision measurements in highly charged ions can provide the most stringent tests of QED [134][135][136]. Such measurements require a stabilized laser source in the Xray frequency regime.…”

Theory of Bound-Electron g Factor in Highly Charged Ions

“…The laser-microwave double-resonance technique [69][70][71][72][73] allows precise measurements of the Zeeman splittings of fine-and hyperfine-structure levels in a Penning trap. This, apart from the linear Zeeman effect, provides an access to the second-and third-order Zeeman effect with highly charged ions.…”