arXiv subjects

Julien Spahn

Publications and source records attributed to Julien Spahn.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Accurate Charge Radius Measurement of $^{14}$C Confronts \textit{Ab Initio} Theory

Located at the neutron shell closure $N = 8$, the long-lived radioactive isotope $^{14}\mathrm{C} $ plays a critical role in geochronology and nuclear structure studies. Despite its widespread use, the nuclear charge radius of $^{14}$C has remained less precisely known compared to its stable counterpart $^{12}$C. Here, we report a high-precision determination of the $^{14}$C charge radius using collinear laser spectroscopy at the COALA setup at TU Darmstadt, improving upon the precision of previous muonic measurements by a factor $5$ and revealing a $1.9\sigma$ discrepancy of combined uncertainty, indicating a likely underestimated uncertainty in the muonic determination. This measurement challenges state-of-the-art \textit{ab initio} nuclear theory calculations, including auxiliary field diffusion Monte Carlo, the valence-space in-medium similarity renormalization group, and the no-core shell model, augmented by neural-network techniques. With $^{12}$C and $^{14}$C now forming one of the most precisely characterized even-even isotope pairs, these results also enable improved QED tests.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2026

Laser spectroscopy illuminates the $N=32$ shell closure

Atomic nuclei are strongly correlated quantum many-body systems, and how their shell structure evolves with increasing neutron excess remains a central open question in nuclear physics. Calcium isotopes are an ideal testing ground: alongside the traditional magic numbers $N=20,28$, new shell closures have been proposed at $N=32,34$ ($^{52,54}\mathrm{Ca}$). While the charge radius rises rapidly towards $N=32$, further moments and radii in the isotopic chain have remained inaccessible due to the low production yield of a few ions per second. Here we apply a highly sensitive collinear laser spectroscopy technique, which reveals a strikingly simple behaviour: adding one neutron to $^{52}\mathrm{Ca}$ yields a pure single-particle magnetic dipole moment in $^{53}\mathrm{Ca}$, while the charge-radius slope towards $^{54}\mathrm{Ca}$ exceeds that towards $^{52}\mathrm{Ca}$. This provides strong evidence for a robust $N=32$ shell closure and stringently constrains nuclear structure models.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2025

Demonstration of a Raman Velocity Filter in Collinear Laser Spectroscopy: Towards Applications for sub-ppm High-Voltage Measurements

Raman transitions have a wide range of applications in atomic physics and have recently been proposed as a means for improving high-precision high-voltage measurements. Here, we present a theoretical analysis and a first experimental demonstration of $5s\,^2\mathrm{S}_{1/2} \rightarrow 4d\,^2\mathrm{D}_{3/2,5/2}$ Raman transitions in $^{88}$Sr$^+$ ions in collinear laser spectroscopy. For the theoretical description the three-level system is reduced to an effective two-level system, in order to estimate the experimental parameters, while the role of the spatial laser intensity distribution in combination with the radial extension of the ion beam are elucidated by performing simulations of the full four-level system. Experimentally, we realized the first velocity-selective Raman transition in collinear laser spectroscopy. Using a $^{88}$Sr$^+$ ion beam, we demonstrate a reduction in the energy width to less than $200\,$meV, which is about an order of magnitude reduction compared to the usage of an optical dipole transition as in previous works. We also investigate two-photon Rabi oscillations and show that their observed collapse is consistent with the simulations.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2025

Splitting Isotope Shift in the $1s2p\,^3\!P_{0,1,2}$ Fine-Structure Triplet in $^{12,13,14}$C$^{4+}$: Experiment and Theory

We report measurements and theoretical calculations of the fine-structure splittings in all three $1s2s\,^3\!S_1\rightarrow\,1s2p\,^3\!P_{0,1,2}$ transitions in the heliumlike systems of the isotopes $^{12,13,14}$C. The metastable triplet state was efficiently populated in an electron beam ion source and the C$^{4+}$ ions were electrostatically accelerated to 50\,keV to perform collinear laser spectroscopy. From the determined transition frequencies, the splitting isotope shift (SIS), i.e., the difference in fine-structure splittings between different isotopes of the same element, was extracted. In the SIS, theoretical uncertainties due to higher-order quantum electrodynamic corrections are strongly suppressed since they are independent of both nuclear mass and the fine-structure quantum number $J$ in lowest order. Comparison with theory provides an important test of experimental accuracy, particularly in the $^{13}$C$^{4+}$ case, for which the nuclear spin leads to hyperfine-induced fine-structure mixing. At the same time, the even-even isotopes $^{12,14}$C$^{4+}$ without nuclear spin can be used to confirm theory. Theoretical values of the SIS are given for all the heliumlike ions with $2\le Z\le 10$.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2024

Transition frequencies, isotope shifts, and hyperfine structure in $4s \rightarrow 4p$ transitions of Ti$^+$ ions

We have measured transition frequencies, isotope shifts and hyperfine structure splittings in the $3 d^{2}\left({ }^{3\!}F\right) 4 s\,{ }^{4} F_J\rightarrow 3 d^{2}\left({ }^{3\!} F\right) 4 p \,^{4} G_{J+1}$ transitions in Ti$^+$ ions for $J=\frac{3}{2},\, \frac{5}{2},\, \frac{7}{2}$ using collinear laser spectroscopy. Ions were generated by laser ablation in a buffer gas atmosphere and extracted into vacuum through a nozzle and a pair of radiofrequency (RF) funnels. The obtained results are of interest as reference values for on-line measurements of short-lived titanium isotopes and for astrophysical searches for temporal or spatial variations of the fine structure constant $\alpha$ using quasar absorption spectra.

physics.atom-ph↗