William H. Wing

On neutral particle trapping in quasistatic electromagnetic fields

Abstract Some basic considerations regarding the confinement of bound neutral systems of particles in limited regions of space by slowly varying electromagnetic fields are reviewed. Electrostatic traps are described, spectroscopic linewidth is discussed, and several specific cases are described briefly. Use of a light field to lengthen the trapping time of decaying states is proposed. A universal refrigeration system utilizing trapped ions is presented, and its utility for cooling neutrals as well as other charged particles is discussed.

Production of H3+, HeH+ and He2+ ion beams using a coaxial electron-impact ion source

Abstract A cylindrically symmetric controlled-electron-bombardment ion source already described [J.J. Spezeski, G.A. Ruff and W.H. Wing, Rev. Sci. Instrum., 49 (1978) 1327] has been modified to permit production of molecular ions by gas-phase reaction in a controlled way. Extremely quiet beams of H 3 + , HeH + , and He 2 + with currents of 1.05 X 10 −7 , 6.2 X 10 −9 , and 1.7 X 10 −9 A, respectively, have been obtained. Source modifications are described and operation over a wide range of conditions is discussed.

Molecular ion source having low energy spread and single‐electron‐impact excitation

A cylindrically symmetric electron-bombardment ion source is described that has been useful in beam experiments with molecular ions. Measurements indicate that the ions have a kinetic-energy spread (full-width at half-maximum) of 0.5-1.0 eV, a current of several microamperes, and a population distribution that is consistent with vibrational and rotational factors resulting from single-electron-impact ionization. The source exhibits low noise ( less, similar twice the theoretical shot-noise limit) and has a compact and easily serviceable construction.

The Microwave-Optical Resonance Method

The spectroscopic method of microwave-optical resonance is one of a class of stimulated resonant transition techniques which, over the past 40 years, have exhibited both a remarkable propensity to differentiate and mutate into new forms as details of particular experimental situations have demanded, and a great fertility in producing precise experimental data on atomic and molecular energy levels. The class may be said to have originated with the molecular-beam radio-frequency resonance experiments of Rabi and co-workers at Columbia.(1) Its range of applicability was extended greatly by the development in 1949–50 of the optical double resonance method by Brossel and Kastler(2) and by Bitter(3) and the microwave-optical resonance method by Lamb and Skinner.

On the aberration of light from a moving retroreflector

Abstract Laser ranging observations on a succession of spacecraft bearing corner retroreflector prisms have favored a model for velocity aberration that depends on the Fresnel–Fizeau frame-dragging effect in the material medium of the reflector. The present analysis, based manifestly on the principle of relativity, supports the classical medium-independent Bradley aberration model. Possibilities for resolving the conflict are discussed and a proposed improved experiment is outlined.

Fast-Beam Laser Spectroscopy of Molecular Ions

Historically, studies of stable atoms and molecules containing one and two electrons were crucial to the development of the quantum theory of matter. For example, attempting to explain from first principles the simple spectrum of the one-electron hydrogen atom led N. Bohr to discover quantization of angular momentum. The puzzle of the missing triplet ground state in the two-electron helium atom was solved by W. Pauli’s postulation of the famous and far-reaching Exclusion Principle. The theory of the covalent chemical bond was developed by W. Heitler and F. London for the two-electron hydrogen molecule. The discovery by W. E. Lamb and R. C. Retherford that the 22S1/2 level of the hydrogen atom was displaced from the 22P1/2 level, contrary to the prediction of the theory of P. A. M. Dirac, spurred the development of modern quantum electrodynamics. The list of such advances can be extended greatly.