Quantum Institute: Visitor Schedule

The Quantum Lunch is regularly held on Thursdays in the Theoretical Division Conference Room, TA-3, Building 123, Room 121.
For more information, contact Diego Dalvit.
To add your name to the Quantum Lunch email list, contact Charlotte Carter

Wednesday, June 17, 2009
12:30 PM - 2:00 PM

Speaker: Oscar Versolato, KVI, Groningen

Technical Host: Malcolm Boshier

TOPIC: High-Precision Experiments on a Single Trapped Radium Ion

Abstract
The TRIP group (Trapped Radioactive Isotopes: micro-laboratories for fundamental Physics) in Groningen, The Netherlands, studies fundamental interactions in nature, in particular to search for new physics beyond the Standard Model (SM) of particle physics. Recently, a new project was started within this group: Two Ra+ experiments are under construction. A single, trapped radium ion is an ideal candidate for high precision experiments. Ultra-narrow transitions in radium ions provide an excellent basis for an all-optical, high-stability frequency standard, i.e. a clock. The off-the-shelf availability of semiconductor lasers for all necessary transitions is highly advantageous. In 223Ra, the nuclear electric quadrupole shift is absent. The same system and experimental hardware will be used to search for physics beyond the SM by measuring Atomic Parity Violation. It will serve as a low-energy test of the running of the electroweak mixing angle. Recent calculations have shown Ra+ to be the superior candidate. We have succeeded in the production, efficient slowing down and first-ever trapping of isotopes around 213Ra at the AGOR cyclotron and the TRIP facility of KVI. Progress has been made in the development of ion traps and in the laser set-up in a dedicated laser laboratory. Laser spectroscopy of the trapped radium ions is planned in the very near future.