Hyperfine Structure of Stored Ions — Results for 2s ²He⁺

Abstract

The study of ions and their interactions by means of storage devices which hold them for long periods encompasses a broad range of experimental effort. In the area of collision studies, treated by G. Dunn¹ at the 1974 International Conference on Atomic Physics (ICAP), it includes electron-ion recombination, spin and charge exchange, photo-dissociation, and ion-molecule reactions among others. Another broad area, the original emphasis of the technique, is the radio-frequency spectroscopy of stored ions. This area was pioneered by H. Dehmelt and his collaborators and was reported on at the first ICAP in 1968². The range of possible experiments here includes the traditional domain of rf spectroscopy of atomic and molecular species; e.g. magnetic moments, hyperfine structure and fine structure. New possibilities include the use of lasers as optical pumping sources and, beyond the rf frequency range, one expects two-photon laser spectroscopy on stored ions to emerge³. Closely allied to the above, but distinguished by their uniqueness and high degree of refinement, are the experiments of the U. Washington group to measure the anomalous magnetic moment of a single electron⁴.

Work supported by the Energy Research and Development Administration.