An Ion Balance for Ultra-High-Precision Atomic Mass Measurements

We have developed the analog of a double-pan balance for determining the masses of single molecular ions from the ratio of their two cyclotron frequencies. By confining two different ions on the same magnetron orbit in a Penning trap, we balance out many sources of noise and error (such as fluctuations of the magnetic field). To minimize the systematic error associated with the Coulomb interaction between the two ions, they are kept about 1 millimeter apart from each other, resulting in fractional uncertainty below 1 × 10–11. Such precision opens the door to numerous applications of mass spectrometry, including metrology, fundamental physics, and weighing chemical bonds.

[1]  D. Pritchard,et al.  Penning Trap Measurements of the Masses of C133s, R87,85b, and N23a with Uncertainties ≤0.2 ppb , 1999 .

[2]  Hartmut Häffner,et al.  New determination of the electron's mass. , 2001, Physical review letters.

[3]  P. Schwinberg,et al.  Ultra-Precise Mass Measurements Using the UW-PTMS , 2001 .

[4]  Lowell S. Brown,et al.  Geonium theory: Physics of a single electron or ion in a Penning trap , 1986 .

[5]  A. Marshall,et al.  Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry: a primer. , 1998, Mass spectrometry reviews.

[6]  D. Pritchard,et al.  Precise Measurements of the Masses of Cs, Rb and Na – A New Route to the Fine Structure Constant , 2001 .

[7]  C. M. Gabrys,et al.  Infrared spectroscopy of carbo‐ions. VI. C–H stretching vibration of the acetylene ion C2H2+ and isotopic species , 1992 .

[8]  G. Siuzdak.  The Expanding Role of Mass Spectrometry in Biotechnology , 2006 .

[9]  V. I. Isakov,et al.  Precise atomic mass values near Sn-132: The resolution of a puzzle , 1999 .

[10]  W. Weirauch,et al.  Determination of the fine-structure constant by a precise measurement of h/mn: the final result , 1998 .

[11]  R. Schuch,et al.  SMILETRAP—A Penning trap facility for precision mass measurements using highly charged ions , 2002 .

[12]  Boyce,et al.  Accurate atomic masses for fundamental metrology. , 1994, Physical review letters.

[13]  Classical squeezing of an oscillator for subthermal noise operation. , 1995, Physical review letters.

[14]  Kessler,et al.  Test of special relativity by a determination of the Lorentz limiting velocity: Does E=mc2? , 1991, Physical review. D, Particles and fields.

[15]  Boyce,et al.  Mode coupling in a Penning trap: pi pulses and a classical avoided crossing. , 1990, Physical review. A, Atomic, molecular, and optical physics.

[16]  P. Schwinberg,et al.  Ultrastable superconducting magnet system for a penning trap mass spectrometer , 1999 .

[17]  A. Wicht,et al.  A Preliminary Measurement of the Fine Structure Constant Based on Atom Interferometry , 2003 .

[18]  Boyce,et al.  Two ions in a Penning trap: Implications for precision mass spectroscopy. , 1992, Physical review. A, Atomic, molecular, and optical physics.

[19]  A. Khabbaz,et al.  Precision Mass Spectroscopy of the Antiproton and Proton Using Simultaneously Trapped Particles , 1999 .