Ionic, Atomic and Molecular Physics

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

This research program emphasizes two different aspects of precision measurements. In the first the approach of atom interferometry will be used to determine atomic and molecular properties such as polarizabilities and to study fundamental quantum phenomena such as Aharonov-Casher and Berry's phases. Simultaneously, the potential use of atom interferometry in inertial sensing will be explored, where there exists the possibility, because of its enhanced sensitivity, that it could replace the laser gyroscope. In the second a new approach to ultra-precision mass measurements will be further developed. This technique will exploit the simultaneous determination of the cyclotron frequency of two ions in a trap in order to remove errors in the mass measurements associated with magnetic field determinations. Results of the research in both areas have implications beyond the narrow area of AMO physics. Extremely precise polarizability measurements for cesium will check atomic structure calculations required for analyzing measurements of parity violation in the atom; extremely precise measurements of the mass difference between 3H and 3He could help place bounds on the mass of the neutrino.