Speaker
Description
Radio-frequency ion traps have enabled unprecedented advancements in high-precision spectroscopy. In recent years, this progress was extended to highly charged ions (HCIs).
HCIs feature an increased sensitivity to QED and relativistic effects while also being less susceptible to external fluctuations, which makes them excellent candidates for testing fundamental physics.
To perform high-precision spectroscopy on HCIs, we have built a novel linear Paul trap design using a superconducting resonator. The trap chamber strongly suppresses magnetic field fluctuations while also providing long lifetimes and low heating rates due to the cryogenic environment. Together with an excitation laser stabilized to an ultra-stable optical cavity via a frequency comb, we plan to perform quantum logic spectroscopy (QLS) on HCIs through sympathetic cooling and quantum logic readout of co-trapped $\mathrm{Be}^+$ ions. These techniques have allowed us to perform ground-state cooling on a single $\mathrm{Be}^+$ ion. However, high heating rates and an insufficient quality factor of the cavity form significant challenges for our current experimental system.
We present our progress to implement an improved design to reach higher trapping frequencies at lower temperatures. An resulting increase in trapping potential allows us achieve lower Lamb-Dicke factors, which represents a crucial step on the way towards quantum logic spectroscopy on HCIs.
| Academic level | PhD student |
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