Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: We report on a Penning trap based on NdFeB permanent magnets operated at 4\,K with a magnetic field strength of 280\,mT. Reliable loading and confinement of protons, H$_2^+$ ions, and electrons was demonstrated with non-destructive single-particle detection sensitivity of protons and H$_2^+$ ions using superconducting image-current circuits. The axial frequency of individual particles reaches a shot-to-shot stability of 47 parts-per-billion comparable to that of state-of-the-art precision Penning-trap experiments. Measurements of the proton modified-cyclotron frequency show a shot-to-shot scatter of $0.14$ parts per million (p.p.m.), presently limited by millikelvin-level temperature fluctuations of the permanent-magnet assembly. We outline a route towards improving this performance by more than an order of magnitude. This development offers broad potential for axial-mode-related precision measurements and cost-efficient Penning-trap experiments, and represents an important step towards compact, scalable, and transportable antiproton-trap systems.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Authors: Völksen, F., Anjum, K. K., Czampiel, R. P., Daehnhardt, N., Gavranovic, S., Hoentges, J., Kürschner, L., Regier, J. D., Schweitzer, D., 1, 2, Schöps, P., Thomas, A. M., Wienhues, S., Arndt, B., Imamura, T., Endoh, S., Latacz, B. M., Leonhardt, M., Micke, P., Morgner, J., Natakala, D., Stahl, S., Yildiz, H., Blaum, K., Devlin, J. A., Matsuda, Y., Ospelkaus, C., Quint, W., Soter, A., Walz, J., Smorra, C., Ulmer, S.
Institutions: Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics, Leibniz University Hannover, RIKEN, European Organization for Nuclear Research, Imperial College London, The University of Tokyo, GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research, ETH Zurich
Language: English
Topic: Atomic and Molecular Physics
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7214166179