Physics Department Faculty:
Gerald Gabrielse
George Vasmer Leverett Professor of PhysicsPhD 1980, University of Chicago
The Gabrielse research group enjoys a variety of atomic,
optical, elementary particle, plasma and low temperature
physics experiments. A one-electron quantum cyclotron
has made it possible to measure the dimensionless electron
magnetic moment 15 times more accurately than a measurement
that stood for twenty years, and to determine the fine
structure constant 20 times more accurately than does
any independent method. A separate measurement, in collaboration
with Prof. Doyle and Prof. DeMille (Yale), seeks a substantial
improvement in measuring the electric dipole moment
of the electron. In addition, the most precise laser spectroscopy of helium fine structure intervals, stabilized
by an iodine optical clock and an optical comb, provides
a way to test two-electron QED.
Professor Gabrielse led the international TRAP team
that developed the techniques to accumulate antiprotons
at energies more than 1010 times lower than
previously realized. This enabled the most stringent
CPT test with baryons, made by comparing charge-to-mass
ratios for a single antiproton and proton to an accuracy
of 90 parts per trillion. The international ATRAP Collaboration,
also led by Gabrielse, now uses these antiprotons to
produce cold antihydrogen atoms, an important step
towards comparing antihydrogen and hydrogen atoms via
precise laser spectroscopy. Technological spin-offs
include a patented solenoid design being used for nuclear
magnetic resonance (NMR), magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI) and ion cyclotron resonance (ICR), along with
improved cell designs for ICR.
- B. Odom, B., D. Hanneke, B. D'Urso and G. Gabrielse, "New Measurement of the Electron Magnetic Moment Using a One-Electron Quantum Cyclotron." Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 030801 (2006). (Selected as physics story of the year for 2006 by the American Institute of Physics.)
- G. Gabrielse, D. Hanneke, T. Kinoshita, M. Nio and B. Odom, "New Determination of the Fine Structure Constant from the Electron g Value and QED." Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 030802 (2006).
- G. Gabrielse, P. Larochelle, D. Le Sage, et al., "Antiproton Confinement in a Penning-Ioffe Trap for Antihydrogen." Phys. Rev. Lett. 98,113002 (2007).
- G. Gabrielse, P. Larochelle, D. Le Sage, et al., "First Antihydrogen Production within a Penning-Ioffe Trap." Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 113001 (2008).
- D. Hanneke, S. Fogwell and G. Gabrielse, "New Measurement of the Electron Magnetic Moment and the Fine Structure Constant." Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 120801 (2008).