Fundamental Symmetries in Atoms and Ions — G. Gwinner
The TITAN ion trap facility for radioactive ions at TRIUMF. This new ion trap facility measures masses of short-lived isotopes produced by the ISAC radioactive beam facility at TRIUMF for studies in astrophysics and the electroweak interaction. A new aspect of this facility is the use of an electron-beam ion trap for the production of highly-charged, radioactive ions. We are currently building a Penning trap to sympathetically cool highly charged ions with cold electrons or protons. [More...]
Atomic parity violation in laser-trapped francium. The weak interaction manifests itself in atoms via the parity-violating Z-boson exchange between electrons and the quarks in the nucleus. In francium, the heaviest alkali atom, the APV effect is almost 20x larger than in Cs. Fr has no stable isotope, and to get a sufficiently large sample, the FrPNC collaboration plans to laser-trap and cool Fr on-line at the ISAC radioactive beam facility at TRIUMF. [More...]
Search for violation of Lorentz invariance. This experiment at the TSR heavy-ion storage ring at the Max-Planck-Institute for Nuclear Physics is the most sensitive test of relativistic time dilation. Essentially, we have realized a two-velocity ion clock using Li+ ions stored at 3% and 6.4% of the speed of light. This experiment has now moved to ESR ring at GSI in Darmstadt, Germany, where speed beyond 30% c can be reached. [More...]
Other activities that we have been involved in previously are electron-ion recombination and the negative positronium ion (e+e-e-) (see Physics News Update and PNU Story of the Year 2006 page).