High-Accuracy Measurement of the Magnetic Moment Anomaly of the Electron Bound in Hydrogenlike Carbon

Abstract

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%.

Electron-Electron Interaction in Strong Electromagnetic Fields: The Two-Electron Contribution to the Ground-State Energy in He-like Uranium

“…Note, this is an additional distinctive feature of this particular kind of QED test. In contrast, all other atomic-structure experiments at high Z such as 1s Lamb shift [10][11][12][13], bound state g-factor [14], hyperfine splitting in hydrogen-like ions [15][16][17][18] or 2s-2p transitions in heavy Li-like systems [19][20][21] encounter the issue of large nuclear effects which may mask the physics at strong fields. typically achieved at the ESR is determined by the uncertainty of the absolute velocity.…”

Single-Particle Self-Excited Oscillator

“…The fractional stability required in the trapping potential goes as M=V o and seems possible. To avoid broadened resonances, spin flips and cyclotron excitations would be made in a trap without a magnetic gradient, then transferred to a detection trap with a large magnetic gradient, as in measurements of magnetic moments of bound electrons [17].…”

Quantum Electrodynamics of Heavy Ions and Atoms

“…Highprecision measurements of the g factor of H-like carbon [32] and oxygen [33] have triggered a great interest to related theoretical calculations (see Refs. [34,35,36] and references therein).…”