Observation of the Nuclear Magnetic Octupole Moment of 137Ba+

Abstract

Single trapped ions are ideal systems in which to test atomic physics at high precision, which can in turn be used for searches for violations of fundamental symmetries and physics beyond the standard model, in addition to quantum computation and a number of other applications. The ion is confined in ultra-high vacuum, is laser cooled to mK temperatures, and kept well isolated from the environment which allows these experimental efforts. In this thesis, a few diagnostic techniques will be discussed, covering a method to measure the linewidth of a narrowband laser in the presence of magnetic field noise, as well as a procedure to measure the ion's temperature using such a narrowband laser. This work has led to two precision experiments to measure atomic structure in 138Ba+, and 137Ba+ discussed here. First, employing laser and radio frequency spectroscopy techniques in 138Ba+, we measured the Lande-gJ factor of the 5D5/2 level at the part-per-million level, the highest precision to date. Later, the development of apparatus to efficiently trap and laser cool 137Ba+ has enabled a measurement of the hyperfine splittings of the 5D3/2 manifold, culminating in the observation of the nuclear magnetic octupole moment of 137Ba+.