This week we have performed axialization on a cloud of calcium ions stored in our 7-tesla open-ring Penning trap, for the first time. This technique allows us to shrink the radial orbit of the ions by means of the coupling between the reduced-cyclotron and magnetron modes. This is accomplished by the application of an external quadrupolar field that oscillates at the cyclotron frequency of the calcium ions in the trap.

The left panel below shows the fluorescence signal from the calcium ions that are laser-cooled in radial and axial directions in the Penning trap. The left panel shows the signal under the same conditions when axialization is continuously applied.