Related papers: Optical Mass Spectrometry of Cold $\mathrm{RaOH}^+…
Trapping molecular ions that have been sympathetically cooled with laser-cooled atomic ions is a useful platform for exploring cold ion chemistry. We designed and characterized a new experimental apparatus for probing chemical reaction…
A novel method of spectroscopy in ion traps termed leak-out spectroscopy (LOS) is presented. Here, mass selected, cold ions are excited by an infrared laser. In a subsequent collision with a neutral buffer gas particle their internal energy…
We experimentally demonstrate a method to determine the temperature of trapped ions which is suitable for monitoring fast thermalization processes. We show that observing and analyzing the lineshape of dark resonances in the fluorescence…
We demonstrate a spatial-imaging thermometry technique for ions in a one-dimensional Coulomb crystal by relating their imaged spatial extent along the linear radiofrequency ion trap axis to normal modes of vibration of coupled oscillators…
We have realized a high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometer combined with a magneto-optical trap. The spectrometer enables excellent optical access to the trapped atomic cloud using specifically devised acceleration and deflection…
Optical spectroscopy in the gas phase is a key tool to elucidate the structure of atoms and molecules and of their interaction with external fields. The line resolution is usually limited by a combination of first-order Doppler broadening…
Mass spectrometry is used in a wide range of scientific disciplines including proteomics, pharmaceutics, forensics, and fundamental physics and chemistry. Given this ubiquity, there is a worldwide effort to improve the efficiency and…
Isolating neutral and charged particles from the environment is essential in precision experiments. For decades, this has been achieved by trapping ions with radio-frequency (rf) fields and neutral particles with optical fields. Recently,…
We experimentally demonstrate optical spectroscopy of magnetically trapped atoms on an atom chip. High resolution optical spectra of individual trapped clouds are recorded within a few hundred milliseconds. Detection sensitivities close to…
While it is straightforward to count laser-cooled trapped ions by fluorescence imaging, detecting the number of dark ions embedded and sympathetically cooled in a mixed ion crystal is more challenging. We demonstrate a method to track the…
A radiofrequency quadrupole ion trap system for use with a multi-reflection time-of-flight mass spectrograph (MRTOF) for short-lived nuclei has been developed. The trap system consists of two different parts, an asymmetric taper trap and a…
We report a weighing metrology experiment of a single silica microsphere optically trapped and immersed in air. Based on fluctuations about thermal equilibrium, three different mass measurements are investigated, each arising from one of…
Laser spectroscopy of cold and trapped molecular ions is a powerful tool for fundamental physics, including the determination of fundamental constants, the laboratory test for their possible variation, and the search for a possible electric…
We propose the use of trapped ions for detection of millicharged dark matter. Millicharged particles will scatter off the ions, giving a signal either in individual events or in the overall heating rate of the ions. Ion traps have several…
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…
We demonstrate a general method for state detection of trapped ions that can be applied to a large class of atomic and molecular species. We couple a "spectroscopy" ion (Al+) to a "control" ion (Mg+) in the same trap and perform state…
We report the trapping of ultracold neutral $ \text{Rb}$ atoms and $ \text{Ba}^+ $ ions in a common optical potential in absence of any radiofrequency (RF) fields. We prepare $ \text{Ba}^+ $ at $ 370 ~ \mu K $ and demonstrate efficient…
A simple and non-destructive method for identification of a single molecular ion sympathetically cooled by a single laser cooled atomic ion in a linear Paul trap is demonstrated. The technique is based on a precise determination of the…
We demonstrate broadband laser cooling of atomic ions in an rf trap using ultrafast pulses from a modelocked laser. The temperature of a single ion is measured by observing the size of a time-averaged image of the ion in the known harmonic…
Precision optical spectroscopy of exotic ions reveals accurate information about nuclear properties such as charge radii and magnetic and quadrupole moments. Thorium ions exhibit unique nuclear properties with high relevance for testing…