Atomic and Molecular Physics(DAMP)
Physique atomique et moléculaire (DPAM)
Gordon W.F. DRAKE
University of Windsor
Exotic Nuclear Size Measurements from High Precision Atomic Theory
Recent advances in high precision atomic theory have opened the way to the creation of a new tool for the measurement of the nuclear charge radius from the measured isotope shift. The unique advantage of the method is that it can be applied to short-lived exotic species such as the neutron-rich isotopes helium-6 and lithium-11. The method relies on high precision calculations of atomic transition frequencies, including relativistic and quantum electrodynamic effects, such that residual uncertainties are small compared with the nuclear volume shift. The current status of theory will be reviewed, together with the progress of experiments at Argonne, TRIUMF, and GSI.