AMO physics has seen revolutionary developments in both technology and fundamental physics measurements over the past decades. Experiments have reached the highest precisions of all disciplines enabling the best time-keeping. Further, table-top precision experiments probe physics beyond the Standard Model and constrain the variation of fundamental constants.
Ultra-cold highly-charged ions have been proposed as new candidates for future optical clocks with significantly reduced sensitivity to systematic effects. At the same time, some of them will exhibit an enhanced sensitivity to a potential variation of fundamental constants. I propose to produce highly- charged ions in situ in a radio-frequency trap and make them accessible in precision experiments at the quantum limit. Combined with suitable singly-charged ions, they can be cooled to the motional ground-state and their electronic properties accessed using techniques such as quantum logic spectrocopy. Due to the novelty of the quantum system, rich physics can be explored on the way towards the precision measurement goals and will ensure sufficient outcome on short timescales.
A second proposed experiment, an enhanced hybrid atom -- ion trap experiment, will be developed alongside the highly-charged ion experiment with minor extra expenses. This experiment will enable a myriad of short-term measurements bolstering early visibility as well as extramural funding applications. In the long-term, it has potential for precision measurements with molecular ions.
