Observation of Spin Flips with a Single Trapped Proton

Radio-frequency induced spin transitions of one individual proton are observed for the first time. The spin quantum jumps are detected via the continuous Stern-Gerlach effect, which is used in an experiment with a single proton stored in a cryogenic Penning trap. This is an important milestone towards a direct high-precision measurement of the magnetic moment of the proton and a new test of the matter-antimatter symmetry in the baryon sector

Direct high-precision measurement of the magnetic moment of the proton

The spin-magnetic moment of the proton $\mu_p$ is a fundamental property of this particle. So far $\mu_p$ has only been measured indirectly, analysing the spectrum of an atomic hydrogen maser in a magnetic field. Here, we report the direct high-precision measurement of the magnetic moment of a single proton using the double Penning-trap technique. We drive proton-spin quantum jumps by a magnetic radio-frequency field in a Penning trap with a homogeneous magnetic field. The induced spin-transitions are detected in a second trap with a strong superimposed magnetic inhomogeneity. This enables the measurement of the spin-flip probability as a function of the drive frequency. In each measurement the proton's cyclotron frequency is used to determine the magnetic field of the trap. From the normalized resonance curve, we extract the particle's magnetic moment in units of the nuclear magneton $\mu_p=2.792847350(9)\mu_N$. This measurement outperforms previous Penning trap measurements in terms of precision by a factor of about 760. It improves the precision of the forty year old indirect measurement, in which significant theoretical bound state corrections were required to obtain $\mu_p$, by a factor of 3. By application of this method to the antiproton magnetic moment $\mu_{\bar{p}}$ the fractional precision of the recently reported value can be improved by a factor of at least 1000. Combined with the present result, this will provide a stringent test of matter/antimatter symmetry with baryons.Comment: published in Natur

Investigation of acceptor levels and hole scattering mechanisms in p-gallium selenide by means of transport measurements under pressure

The effect of pressure on acceptor levels and hole scattering mechanisms in p-GaSe is investigated through Hall effect and resistivity measurements under quasi-hydrostatic conditions up to 4 GPa. The pressure dependence of the hole concentration is interpreted through a carrier statistics equation with a single (nitrogen) or double (tin) acceptor whose ionization energies decrease under pressure due to the dielectric constant increase. The pressure effect on the hole mobility is also accounted for by considering the pressure dependencies of both the phonon frequencies and the hole-phonon coupling constants involved in the scattering rates.Comment: 13 pages, Latex, 4 ps figures. to appear in High Pressure Research 69 (1997

Resolution of Single Spin-Flips of a Single Proton

The spin magnetic moment of a single proton in a cryogenic Penning trap was coupled to the particle's axial motion with a superimposed magnetic bottle. Jumps in the oscillation frequency indicate spin-flips and were identified using a Bayesian analysis.Comment: accepted for publication by Phys. Rev. Lett., submitted 6.June.201

Towards a high-precision measurement of the antiproton magnetic moment

The recent observation of single spins flips with a single proton in a Penning trap opens the way to measure the proton magnetic moment with high precision. Based on this success, which has been achieved with our apparatus at the University of Mainz, we demonstrated recently the first application of the so called double Penning-trap method with a single proton. This is a major step towards a measurement of the proton magnetic moment with ppb precision. To apply this method to a single trapped antiproton our collaboration is currently setting up a companion experiment at the antiproton decelerator of CERN. This effort is recognized as the Baryon Antibaryon Symmetry Experiment (BASE). A comparison of both magnetic moment values will provide a stringent test of CPT invariance with baryons.Comment: Submitted to LEAP 2013 conference proceeding

Demonstration of the Double Penning Trap Technique with a Single Proton

Spin flips of a single proton were driven in a Penning trap with a homogeneous magnetic field. For the spin-state analysis the proton was transported into a second Penning trap with a superimposed magnetic bottle, and the continuous Stern-Gerlach effect was applied. This first demonstration of the double Penning trap technique with a single proton suggests that the antiproton magnetic moment measurement can potentially be improved by three orders of magnitude or more

Tin-related double acceptors in gallium selenide single crystals

Gallium selenide single crystals doped with different amounts of tin are studied through resistivity and Hall effect measurements in the temperature range from 30 to 700 K. At low doping concentration tin is shown to behave as a double acceptor impurity in gallium selenide with ionization energies of 155 and 310 meV. At higher doping concentration tin also introduces deep donor levels, but the material remains p-type in the whole studied range of tin doping concentrations. The deep character of donors in gallium selenide is discussed by comparison of its conduction band structure to that of indium selenide under pressure. The double acceptor center is proposed to be a tin atom in interlayer position, with a local configuration that is similar to that of tin diselenide. The hole mobility exhibits an anomalous dependence on the tin content, attaining its maximum value in the ingot with 0.2% nominal tin content. This is proposed to be related to impurity pairing effects giving rise to thermal shallow acceptors with low ionization energy and low carrier scattering cross section, making the hole mobility to be controlled by phonon scattering mechanisms even for relatively high impurity [email protected] ; [email protected]

Selectron Mass Reconstruction and the Resolution of the Linear Collider Detector

We have used ISAJET and the JAS LCD fast simulation to explore the precision of Snowmass Point SPS1a selectron mass reconstruction for the Silicon Detector concept. Simulating collisions at E_cm = 1 TeV, we have found that most of the information constraining the selectron mass is carried in the forward (|cos(theta)| \u3e 0.8) region. We have also found that, for a beam energy spread of 1% (conventional RF design), detector resolution limitations compromise the selectron mass reconstruction only in the forward region. However, for a beam energy spread of less than 0.2% (superconducting RF design), the detector resolution compromises the selectron mass reconstruction over the full angular region