Storing keV negative ions for an hour: the lifetime of the metastable ^(2)P((1/2)^(o)) level in ^(32)S^(-)

Phys Rev Lett. 2015 Apr 10;114(14):143003. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.114.143003. Epub 2015 Apr 6.

Abstract

We use a novel electrostatic ion storage ring to measure the radiative lifetime of the upper level in the 3p^{5} ^{2}P_{1/2}^{o}→3p^{5} ^{2}P_{3/2}^{o} spontaneous radiative decay in ^{32}S^{-} to be 503±54 sec. This is by orders of magnitude the longest lifetime ever measured in a negatively charged ion. Cryogenic cooling of the storage ring gives a residual-gas pressure of a few times 10^{-14} mbar at 13 K and storage of 10 keV sulfur anions for more than an hour. Our experimental results differ by 1.3σ from the only available theoretical prediction [P. Andersson et al., Phys. Rev. A 73, 032705 (2006)].