Highly-charged ions for high-precision penning trap mass spectrometry

This contribution will give a detailed insight into the field of high-precision mass spectrometry employing a Penning Trap Mass Spectrometer (PTMS), where the main observable is the cyclotron frequency νc=qeB/(2πm) of an ion with charge-to-mass ratio q/m trapped in a homogeneous magnetic field B. The application of ions with multiple charges in high-precision mass spectrometry yields a distinct benefit due to an increased resolution νc/Δνc. Recent results will be presented mostly from the Penning trap mass spectrometer SMILETRAP with emphasis on results relevant for fundamental physics questions. Among the highlights are the most precise tritium beta decay Q-value, which is of importance in the search for a finite rest mass of the electron anti-neutrino; a newly evaluated 76Ge double beta-decay Q-value relevant in the search for neutrinoless double beta-decay (0νββ); the masses of the lithium-like and hydrogen-like 40Ca ions, which are indispensable input values when evaluating g-factor measurements of the bound electron in these ions. Other Penning trap facilities dedicated to highly-charged ions are discussed such as HITRAP at GSI Darmstadt