• Featured in Physics
  • Editors' Suggestion
  • Open Access

Storing keV Negative Ions for an Hour: The Lifetime of the Metastable P21/2o level in S32

E. Bäckström, D. Hanstorp, O. M. Hole, M. Kaminska, R. F. Nascimento, M. Blom, M. Björkhage, A. Källberg, P. Löfgren, P. Reinhed, S. Rosén, A. Simonsson, R. D. Thomas, S. Mannervik, H. T. Schmidt, and H. Cederquist
Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 143003 – Published 6 April 2015
Physics logo See Viewpoint: Negative Ions in Cold Storage

Abstract

We use a novel electrostatic ion storage ring to measure the radiative lifetime of the upper level in the 3p5P21/2o3p5P23/2o spontaneous radiative decay in S32 to be 503±54sec. This is by orders of magnitude the longest lifetime ever measured in a negatively charged ion. Cryogenic cooling of the storage ring gives a residual-gas pressure of a few times 1014 mbar at 13 K and storage of 10 keV sulfur anions for more than an hour. Our experimental results differ by 1.3σ from the only available theoretical prediction [P. Andersson et al., Phys. Rev. A 73, 032705 (2006)].

  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Received 16 December 2014

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.114.143003

This article is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

Published by the American Physical Society

Viewpoint

Key Image

Negative Ions in Cold Storage

Published 6 April 2015

A cooled ring stores high-speed negative ions for more than 1000 seconds and enables new studies of atomic and molecular ions that are important in interstellar and atmospheric chemistry.

See more in Physics

Authors & Affiliations

E. Bäckström1,*, D. Hanstorp2, O. M. Hole1, M. Kaminska1,3, R. F. Nascimento1, M. Blom1, M. Björkhage1, A. Källberg1, P. Löfgren1, P. Reinhed1, S. Rosén1, A. Simonsson1, R. D. Thomas1, S. Mannervik1, H. T. Schmidt1,†, and H. Cederquist1

  • 1Department of Physics, Stockholm University, AlbaNova, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
  • 2Department of Physics, University of Gothenburg, SE-412 96 Göteborg, Sweden
  • 3Institute of Physics, Jan Kochanowski University, 25-369 Kielce, Poland

  • *erba@fysik.su.se
  • schmidt@fysik.su.se

Article Text

Click to Expand

References

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 114, Iss. 14 — 10 April 2015

Reuse & Permissions
Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Physical Review Letters

Reuse & Permissions

It is not necessary to obtain permission to reuse this article or its components as it is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI are maintained. Please note that some figures may have been included with permission from other third parties. It is your responsibility to obtain the proper permission from the rights holder directly for these figures.

×

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×