No abstract available

[en] An Atom Trap Trace Analysis (ATTA) system based on the technique of laser manipulation of neutral atoms is being developed to count individual(sup 41)Ca atoms present in natural samples with an isotopic abundance of 10(sup -15). Trapping of all stable calcium isotopes has been demonstrated and single-atom counting has been realized. For the most abundant isotope,(sup 40)Ca (97% isotopic abundance), a magneto-optical trap (MOT) loading rate of 2 x 10(sup 10) atoms/s has been reached at the overall capture efficiency of 1 x 10(sup -4). System improvements could increase the efficiency by at least an order of magnitude

[en] An Atom Trap Trace Analysis (ATTA) system based on the technique of laser manipulation of neutral atoms is being developed to count individual ⁴¹Ca atoms present in natural samples with an isotopic abundance of 10^-15. Trapping of all stable calcium isotopes has been demonstrated and single-atom counting has been realized. For the most abundant isotope, ⁴⁰Ca (97% isotopic abundance), a magneto-optical trap (MOT) loading rate of 2 x 10¹⁰ atoms/s has been reached at the overall capture efficiency of 1 x 10^-4. System improvements could increase the efficiency by at least an order of magnitude

[en] A proposed scheme for implementing trapped-ion quantum computing encodes qubits in different types of electronic levels where logic gates can be implemented with low cross-talk, know as the omg architecture [1]. One type of qubit this scheme employs is the metastable (m) qubit, which has not been widely studied. We have implemented m qubits in the D₅/2 manifold of 40Ca+ and performed one- and two-qubit stimulated Raman gates, one of the first entangling gates performed in m qubits. We perform these gates using laser beams tuned 44 THz red of the 854 nm D₅/2 to P₃/2 transition with increased power using a fiberized injection-locked 976 nm diode laser system. The injection-locked scheme allowed for a three-fold increase in gate speed compared to using a single free-space laser diode setup by increasing the power in each of the two beams from 80 mW to 250 mW. We have measured the spontaneous Raman scattering rate from these beams, and comparing these results to scattering models we have developed that account for effects relevant at large detunings [2], we find that spontaneous Raman scattering error rates at this wavelength can be made low enough that they are no longer a limiting factor in achieving fidelities needed for fault-tolerance. [1] D. T. C. Allcock et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 119, 214002 (2021) [2] I. D. Moore et al., Phys. Rev. A 107, 032413 (2023)

No abstract available

[en] Various methods of controlling the medfly are available and include the use of insecticides, bait sprays and the sterile insect technique (SIT). Each of these control strategies may be used alone or in sequence. With regard to the application of the SIT, the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Atomic Energy in Food and Agriculture through its Insect and Pest Control Section and Entomology Laboratory is in an excellent position to assist in containing the medfly in Central America. For the past 12 years, the laboratory has participated in all phases of medfly control by sterile insect releases in various climates. This involvement has included planning of medfly campaigns, development of pre-release techniques (bait spraying, trapping, etc.) and shipment and release of sterilized medflies. Small-scale field tests utilizing the SIT have been carried out by nine countries: Italy (Procida, Capri), Spain, Cyprus, Israel, Tunisia, Peru, Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Other field projects presently being counselled and serviced are located in Argentina, Venezuela and the Canary Islands. The research and development that are still needed to effectively stabilize and gain control of the medfly situation in Central America include: The development and use of effective quarantine procedures in various countries; Development of effective conventional medfly control procedures under the conditions found in Central America; Development of methods to determine the geographic origin of medflies introduced into new areas; Medfly mass production (viz. all aspects of rearing Central American strains); Assessing the performance (competitiveness, etc.) of various strains; Logistics, including the development of systems for releasing pre-adult stages; Genetic rearing methods: developmental research in this area is particularly promising since the preferential production of males would allow considerable savings in the rearing costs of medflies for release; Development of adequate surveillance through dual marking, e.g. a dye coupled with dysprosium chloride followed by neutron activation analysis and autoradiography. This methodology should provide an almost foolproof identification of released medflies. In summary, the problem posed by the medfly to agricultural production in Central America is recognized by regional, national and international institutions. Several of these institutions are implementing plans for controlling this insect in Central America and checking the spread to North America. Because of its experience and expertise, the Agency has already been approached to help develop the programme against the medfly. The Entomology Section of the FAO/IAEA Joint Division is prepared to help these organizations in lifting the economic threat that the medfly is posing to agriculture in Central and North America, as well as in other infested regions

[en] Atomic masses of about 50 neutron-rich Sr, Y, Zr, Mo, Tc and Ru isotopes have been measured with accuracies of about 10 keV employing a Penning trap setup at the IGISOL facility. The most neutron-rich isotopes measured were ¹⁰⁰Sr, ¹⁰¹Y, ¹⁰⁵Zr, ¹¹⁰Mo, ¹¹¹Tc and ¹¹⁴Ru. Our results indicate significant errors among the previously published values deduced from the beta-endpoint measurements. For Zr and Mo the most neutron-rich studied isotopes are found significantly less bound (1 MeV) as compared to the 2003 Atomic Mass Evaluation. Strong correlation between nuclear deformation and the binding energy is observed in the two-neutron separation energy in all studied isotope chains. Extension of these experiments towards more neutron-rich nuclei and their possible impact on r-process will be discussed. (author)

No abstract available

[en] Since several elements between Z = 20-28 are refractory in their nature, their neutron-rich isotopes are rarely available as low energy Radioactive Ion Beams (RIB) in ordinary Isotope Separator On-Line facilities [1-4]. These low energy RIBs would be especially interesting to have available under conditions which allow high-resolution beta-decay spectroscopy, ion-trapping and laser-spectroscopy. As an example, availability of these beams would open a way for research which could produce interesting and important data on neutron-rich nuclei around the doubly magic ⁷⁸Ni. One way to overcome the intrinsic difficulty of producing these beams is to rely on the chemically unselective Ion Guide Isotope Separator On-Line (IGISOL) technique [5]. Quasi- and deep-inelastic reactions, such as ¹⁹⁷Au(⁶⁵Cu,X)Y, could be used to produce these nuclei in existing IGISOL facilities, but before they can be successfully incorporated into the IGISOL concept their kinematics must be well understood. Therefore the reaction kinematics part of this study was first performed at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory using its 88'' cyclotron and, based on those results, a specialized target chamber was built[6]. The target chamber shown in Fig. 1 was recently tested on-line at the Jyvaaskylaa IGISOL facility. Yields of mass-separated radioactive projectile-like species such as ^62,63Co are about 0.8 ions/s/pnA, corresponding to about 0.06 % of the total IGISOL efficiency for the products that hit the Ni-degrader. (The current maximum 443 MeV ⁶⁵Cu beam intensity at Jyvaaskylaa is about 20 pnA.) This total IGISOL efficiency is a product of two coupled loss factors, namely inadequate thermalization and the intrinsic IGISOL efficiency. In our now tested chamber, about 9 % of the Co recoils are thermalized in the owing He gas (p_He=300 mbar) and about 0.7 % of them are converted into the mass-separated ion beams. In the future, both of these physical/chemical conditions can be suppressed by introducing Ar as a buffer gas and by relying on selective laser re-ionization. This combination will produce isobarically pure beams and it will increase the existing yields by at least a factor of 100, making this overall approach to the study of neutron rich nuclei even more attractive

No abstract available