Abstract
We report on the realization of bunched crystalline ion beams in a tabletop quadrupole storage ring. The phase transition of the beam, laser-cooled at an energy of 1 eV, is observed as a sudden drop in the transverse beam size. The crystalline beam evolves from a linear string of ions to a vertical zigzag band when the bunch is longitudinally compressed. Bunched and coasting beams show similar properties close to the phase transition. Here, the spatial beam profile exhibits an unexpected two-component distribution, possibly due to a phase mixing process.
- Received 10 July 2001
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.87.184801
©2001 American Physical Society
