Related papers: Precision spectroscopy technique for dipole allowe…
The optical manipulation of Ba$^{+}$ ions is mainly performed by a 493 nm laser for the S$_{1/2}$-P$_{1/2}$ transition and a 650 nm laser for the P$_{1/2}$-D$_{3/2}$ transition. Since the branching ratio between the 493 nm and 650 nm…
We present and characterize a laser system for the spectroscopy on highly-charged ^209Bi^82+ ions at a wavelength of 243.87 nm. For absolute frequency stabilization, the laser system is locked to a near-infra-red laser stabilized to a…
We demonstrate millikelvin thermometry of laser cooled trapped ions with high-resolution imaging. This equilibrium approach is independent of the cooling dynamics and has lower systematic error than Doppler thermometry, with \pm5 mK…
Direct frequency comb spectroscopy of trapped ions is demonstated for the first time. It is shown that the 4s^2S_(1/2)-4p^2P_(3/2) transition in calcium ions can be excited directly with a frequency comb laser that is upconverted to 393 nm.…
A ring crystal of ions trapped in a linear multipole trap is studied as a basis for an optical frequency standard. The equilibrium conditions and cooling possibilities are discussed through an analytical model and molecular dynamics…
Laser spectroscopic studies on minute samples of exotic radioactive nuclei require very efficient experimental techniques. In addition, high resolving powers are required to allow extraction of nu- clear structure information. Here we…
Laser cooling and trapping offers the possibility of confining a sample of radioactive atoms in free space. Here, we address the question of how best to take advantage of cold atom properties to perform the observation of as highly…
We demonstrate a Doppler cooling and detection scheme for ions with low-lying D levels which almost entirely suppresses scattered laser light background, while retaining a high fluorescence signal and efficient cooling. We cool a single ion…
The motion of an ion in a radiofrequency (rf) Paul trap is described by the Mathieu equation and the associated stability parameters that are proportional to the rf and dc electric field gradients. Here, a higher-order, iterative method to…
We demonstrate a new method for the direct measurement of atomic dipole transition matrix elements based on techniques developed for quantum information purposes. The scheme consists of measuring dispersive and absorptive off-resonant…
We have developed a novel scheme to measure the secular motion of trapped ions. Employing pulsed excitation and analysis of the fluorescence of laser cooled ions, we have measured the centre-of-mass mode frequency of single as well as…
Transition frequencies between low-lying energy levels in a single trapped $^{138}$Ba$^{+}$ ion have been measured with laser spectroscopy referenced to an optical frequency comb. By extracting the frequencies of one-photon and two-photon…
Sympathetic laser cooling of ions stored within a linear-geometry, radio frequency, electric-quadrupole trap has been investigated using computational and theoretical techniques. The simulation, which allows 5 sample ions to interact with…
Molecular ions can be held in a chain of laser-cooled atomic ions by sympathetic cooling. This system is ideal for performing high-precision molecular spectroscopy with applications in astrochemistry and fundamental physics. Here we show…
We present the characterization of a laser frequency stabilization scheme using a state-of-the-art wavelength meter based on solid Fizeau interferometers. For a frequency-doubled Ti-sapphire laser operated at 461 nm, an absolute Allan…
We describe a high-resolution spectroscopy method, in which the detection of single excitation events is enhanced by a complete loss of coherence of a superposition of two ground states. Thereby, transitions of a single isolated atom nearly…
A single-ion reservoir has been tested, and characterized in order to be used as a highly sensitive optical detector of electric signals arriving at the trapping electrodes. Our system consists of a single laser-cooled $^{40}$Ca$^+$ ion…
Multipole radiofrequency ion traps are a highly versatile tool to study molecular ions and their interactions in a well-controllable environment. In particular the cryogenic 22-pole ion trap configuration is used to study ion-molecule…
We measured the ground-state hyperfine splitting of trapped ${}^{113}$Cd${}^{+}$ ions to be 15199862855.02799(27) Hz with a fractional uncertainty of $1.8\times10^{-14}$. The ions were trapped and laser-cooled in a linear quadrupole Paul…
Precision spectroscopy of atomic and molecular ions offers a window to new physics, but is typically limited to species with a cycling transition for laser cooling and detection. Quantum logic spectroscopy has overcome this limitation for…