Laser spectroscopic determination of the 6He nuclear charge radius.
We have performed precision laser spectroscopy on individual 6He (t(1/2)=0.8 s) atoms confined and cooled in a magneto-optical trap, and measured the isotope shift between 6He and 4He to be 43 194.772+/-0.056 MHz for the 2(3)S1-3(3)P2 transition. Based on this measurement and atomic theory, the nuclear charge radius of 6He is determined for the first time in a method independent of nuclear models to be 2.054+/-0.014 fm. The result is compared with the values predicted by a number of nuclear structure calculations and tests their ability to characterize this loosely bound halo nucleus.
Wang
L-B
LB
Physics Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439, USA.
Mueller
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Bailey
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Drake
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Greene
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JP
Henderson
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Holt
R J
RJ
Janssens
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Jiang
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Lu
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O'Connor
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Pardo
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Rehm
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Schiffer
J P
JP
Tang
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