Domaines
Quantum optics/Atomic physics/Laser
Kinetic theory ; Diffusion ; Long-range interacting systems
Type of internship
Expérimental Description
One of the experimental set-up of the CIML group in Marseille aims at the experimental investigation of the energy exchange between charged particles, sending a projectile onto a target. There, the target is a cold and dense trapped ion cloud which can be considered as a very non-conventional plasma, a one-component plasma. The projectile is a very heavy molecular ion and the perturbation that it induces in crossing the cloud of trapped ions can be used for its non-destructive detection, to demonstrate a prototype for mass spectrometer detector without mass limitation.
Objectives : We propose to a master student to join this project to observe and study the energy exchange between charged heavy ions and laser cooled Ca+ trapped ion cloud. It implies to develop a protocol to control the size and temperature of the trapped ions, the trajectory of the projectile and a diagnostic of the energy transferred to the ion cloud. The internship relies on an operational experimental set-up, where the detection will take place. It can also rely on a molecular dynamics simulation code that can be used to test the detection efficiency regarding the projectile characteristics, the trap and the laser-cooling parameters.
The acquired skills concern charged particle trapping and guiding, atom-laser interaction and laser cooling, data acquisition and processing.
Contact
Caroline Champenois