Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) has been observed in a dilute gas of sodium atoms. A Bose-Einstein condensate consists of a macroscopic population of the ground state of the system, and is a coherent state of matter. In an ideal gas, this phase transition is purely quantum-statistical. The study of BEC in weakly interacting systems which can be controlled and observed with precision holds the promise of revealing new macroscopic quantum phenomena that can be understood from first principles.

Bose-Einstein condensation in a gas of sodium atoms

This paper gives the 2010 self-consistent set of values of the basic constants and conversion factors of physics and chemistry recommended by the Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA) for international use. The 2010 adjustment takes into account the data considered in the 2006 adjustment as well as the data that became available from 1 January 2007, after the closing date of that adjustment, until 31 December 2010, the closing date of the new adjustment. Further, it describes in detail the adjustment of the values of the constants, including the selection of the final set of input data based on the results of least-squares analyses. The 2010 set replaces the previously recommended 2006 CODATA set and may also be found on the World Wide Web at physics.nist.gov/constants.

/pdf/codata-recommended-values-of-the-fundamental-physical-4bsdant71c.pdf

CODATA Recommended Values of the Fundamental Physical Constants: 2006

Structural information on nanometer-sized gold particles has been limited, due in part to the problem of preparing homogeneous material. Here we report the crystallization and x-ray structure determination of a p-mercaptobenzoic acid (p-MBA)-protected gold nanoparticle, which comprises 102 gold atoms and 44 p-MBAs. The central gold atoms are packed in a Marks decahedron, surrounded by additional layers of gold atoms in unanticipated geometries. The p-MBAs interact not only with the gold but also with one another, forming a rigid surface layer. The particles are chiral, with the two enantiomers alternating in the crystal lattice. The discrete nature of the particle may be explained by the closing of a 58-electron shell.

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/318/5849/430.full.pdf

Structure of a thiol monolayer-protected gold nanoparticle at 1.1 A resolution

Advances in atomic physics, such as cooling and trapping of atoms and molecules and developments in frequency metrology, have added orders of magnitude to the precision of atom-based clocks and sensors. Applications extend beyond atomic physics and this article reviews using these new techniques to address important challenges in physics and to look for variations in the fundamental constants, search for interactions beyond the standard model of particle physics, and test the principles of general relativity.

Search for New Physics with Atoms and Molecules

Universal logic gates for two quantum bits (qubits) form an essential ingredient of quantum computation. Dynamical gates have been proposed in the context of trapped ions; however, geometric phase gates (which change only the phase of the physical qubits) offer potential practical advantages because they have higher intrinsic resistance to certain small errors and might enable faster gate implementation. Here we demonstrate a universal geometric pi-phase gate between two beryllium ion-qubits, based on coherent displacements induced by an optical dipole force. The displacements depend on the internal atomic states; the motional state of the ions is unimportant provided that they remain in the regime in which the force can be considered constant over the extent of each ion's wave packet. By combining the gate with single-qubit rotations, we have prepared ions in an entangled Bell state with 97% fidelity-about six times better than in a previous experiment demonstrating a universal gate between two ion-qubits. The particular properties of the gate make it attractive for a multiplexed trap architecture that would enable scaling to large numbers of ion-qubits.

Experimental demonstration of a robust, high-fidelity geometric two ion-qubit phase gate*

We present an experimental value for the $g$ factor of the electron bound in hydrogenlike oxygen, which is found to be ${g}_{\mathrm{e}\mathrm{x}\mathrm{p}\mathrm{t}}=2.000\text{ }047\text{ }025\text{ }4\text{ }(15)(44)$. The experiment was performed on a single $^{16}\mathrm{O}^{7+}$ ion stored in a Penning trap. For the first time, the expected line shape of the $g$-factor resonance is calculated which is essential for minimizing the systematic uncertainties. The measurement agrees within $1.1\text{ }\ensuremath{\sigma}$ with the predicted theoretical value ${g}_{\mathrm{t}\mathrm{h}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{o}\mathrm{r}\mathrm{y}}=2.000\text{ }047\text{ }020\text{ }2\text{ }(6)$. It represents a stringent test of bound-state quantum electrodynamics to a 0.25% level. Assuming the validity of the underlying theory, a value for the electron mass is obtained: ${m}_{e}=0.000\text{ }548\text{ }579\text{ }909\text{ }6\text{ }(4)\text{ }\mathrm{u}$. This value agrees with our earlier determination on $^{12}{\mathrm{C}}^{\mathrm{5}\mathrm{+}}$ and allows a combination of both values which is about 4 times more precise than the currently accepted one.

Electronic g Factor of Hydrogenlike Oxygen O-7 + 16

We present a new concept for a Penning trap, which is planar and allows for the implementation of novel confinement techniques. The trap provides confinement perpendicular to its plane by an electric potential minimum while a superimposed magnetic field provides radial confinement. Both the axial position and the depth of the potential minimum can be controlled by the applied voltages. The device is scalable in the sense that an arbitrary number of planar traps can be embedded in one plane thus representing a multitrap array which can be used for particle interaction studies. Switches between different traps in the planar array allow for controlled interactions between the single stored particles.

A planar Penning trap

An Introduction to the Theory of Numbers, 6th edition, by G.H. Hardy and E.M. Wright, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2008, 621 pp., £75.00 (hardback), ISBN 9780199219858. Scope: textbook. Level: ...

An Introduction to the Theory of Numbers, 6th edition, by G.H. Hardy and E.M. Wright. Scope: textbook. Level: advanced undergraduate and above

Singly charged gold cluster anions in the size range n = 16–30 have been captured, stored and size selected in a Penning trap. After application of an electron beam doubly charged gold cluster anions have been observed for 20 ≤ n ≤ 30. To our knowledge this is the first observation of metal cluster dianions. The threshold appearance size is in good agreement with a simple charged sphere model. The application of argon gas pulses simultaneously with the electron beam is found to increase the production rate by an order of magnitude.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1238/Physica.Topical.080a00200/pdf

First Observation of Doubly Charged Negative Gold Cluster Ions

We describe and apply a new procedure that allows a direct determination of dissociation energies of polyatomic systems (clusters, fullerenes, polymers, and other molecules) without any modeling of the systems under investigation. As an example, we have determined the dissociation energies of a series of gold clusters Au(+)n. A comparison with values obtained from statistical models of unimolecular dissociation shows that these models significantly fail to describe the data. In contrast, the new method yields values which are an order of magnitude more accurate, thus allowing one to experimentally set benchmarks for any theory which attempts to describe activated processes.

http://physics.gu.se/~klavs/papers/PRL_2001_modelfree.pdf

Manuel Vogel

Papers

Electronic g Factor of Hydrogenlike Oxygen O-7 + 16

A planar Penning trap

An Introduction to the Theory of Numbers, 6th edition, by G.H. Hardy and E.M. Wright. Scope: textbook. Level: advanced undergraduate and above

First Observation of Doubly Charged Negative Gold Cluster Ions

Model-free determination of dissociation energies of polyatomic systems.