Precision spectroscopy on ${}^9$Be overcomes limitations from nuclear structure

Abstract

Many powerful tests of the Standard Model of particle physics and searches for new physics with precision atomic spectroscopy are plagued by our lack of knowledge of nuclear properties. Ideally, such properties may be derived from precise measurements of the most sensitive and theoretically best-understood observables, often found in hydrogen-like systems. While these measurements are abundant for the electric properties of nuclei, they are scarce for the magnetic properties, and precise experimental results are limited to the lightest of nuclei. Here, we focus on ${}^9$Be which offers the unique possibility to utilize comparisons between different charge states available for high-precision spectroscopy in Penning traps to test theoretical calculations typically obscured by nuclear structure. In particular, we perform the first high-precision spectroscopy of the $1s$ hyperfine and Zeeman structure in hydrogen-like ${}^9$Be${}^{3+}$. We determine its effective Zemach radius with an uncertainty of $500$ ppm, and its bare nuclear magnetic moment with an uncertainty of $0.6$ parts-per-billion (ppb) - uncertainties unmatched beyond hydrogen. Moreover, we compare to measurements conducted on the three-electron charge state ${}^9$Be${}^{+}$, which, for the first time, enables testing the calculation of multi-electron diamagnetic shielding effects of the nuclear magnetic moment at the ppb level. In addition, we test quantum electrodynamics (QED) methods used for the calculation of the hyperfine splitting. Our results serve as a crucial benchmark essential for transferring high-precision results of nuclear magnetic properties across different electronic configurations.

References in corpus (15)

• Precision physics of simple atoms: QED tests, nuclear structure and fundamental constants
• Test of many-electron QED effects in the hyperfine splitting of heavy high-Z ions
• New Nuclear Magnetic Moment of ${}^{209}$Bi - Resolving the Bismuth Hyperfine Puzzle
• Stringent test of QED with hydrogenlike tin
• Direct measurement of the ${}^3$He${}^{+}$ magnetic moments
• Hyperfine structure of Li and Be^+
• Ground state hyperfine splitting in ^6,7Li atoms and the nuclear structure
• Recoil effect on the g factor of Li-like ions
• Diamagnetic correction to the ${}^9$Be${}^{+}$ ground-state hyperfine constant
• Zeeman effect of the hyperfine structure levels in hydrogenlike ions
• QED effects on the nuclear magnetic shielding of ${}^3$He
• Ground state hyperfine splitting in the Be${}^{+}$ ion
• Higher-order QED corrections to the hyperfine splitting in ${}^3$He
• Accurate determination of ${}^{6,7}$Li nuclear magnetic moments
• QED theory of the nuclear magnetic shielding in H and ${}^3$He

Cited by in corpus (3)

• Improved bound-electron g-factor theory through complete two-loop QED calculations
• Measurement of the g factor of ground-state 87Sr at the parts-per-million level using co-trapped ultracold atoms
• The hyperfine anomaly in mercury and test of the Moskowitz-Lombardi rule