Bound electron g-factor measurement by double-resonance spectroscopy on a fine-structure transition

Precise determination of bound-electron g-factors in highly charged ions provides stringent tests for state of the art theoretical calculations. The scope reaches from relativistic electron-correlation effects on the one hand to bound-state QED terms on the other. Besides, the investigation can contribute to the determination of the fine-structure constant α. In a first approach with boron-like ions of spinless nuclei (e.g., ⁴⁰Ar¹³⁺ and ⁴⁰Ca¹⁵⁺), we will excite the 2²P_1/2-2²P_3/2 fine-structure transition with laser radiation and probe microwave transitions between Zeeman sublevels. From this laser-microwave double-resonance technique the g-factor can be determined on a ppb level of accuracy. We have prepared a cryogenic trap assembly with a creation trap and a spectroscopy trap-a half-open compensated cylindrical Penning trap. Argon gas will be injected through a remotely controlled valve, working at cryogenic temperature and in the field of a superconducting magnet. Ions are produced by electron impact ionization and transferred to the spectroscopy trap. In the future, the trap will be connected to the HITRAP facility at GSI, and the method will be applied to hyperfine-structure transitions of hydrogen-like heavy ions to measure electronic and nuclear magnetic moments. We present important techniques employed in the experiment. (author)