Observation of atomic spin precessions of isolated fluorine ions on recoil through weak transverse magnetic fields

Abstract

A new experimental method for studying the hyperfine interactions of multi-electron configurations in isolated ions is illustrated for fluorine using the long-lived 197 keV19F(5/2+) state as probe. The observed atomic precessions were found to vary linearly with the applied weak magnetic field integrated over the flight path of the recoiling ions. The data are well accounted for, assuming configurations from the coupling of 2s and 2p electrons in the relevant ionic charge states.