Detection Electronics Design and First Observation of Bound-Electron Spin Transitions at the ALPHATRAP g-Factor Experiment

ALPHATRAP is a Penning-trap based experiment located at the Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik (MPIK). It is dedicated to the exploration of ground-state properties of heavy, highly charged ions (HCI). The major goal of the ALPHATRAP experiment are high precision measurements of the bound-electron g-factor. The comparison of the experimental result with recent theoretical calculations will not only serve as a sensitive test of bound-state quantum electrodynamics (BS-QED) but also yields a new approach for the determination of fundamental constants such as the electron mass or the fine structure constant. The measurement of the bound-electron g-factor of a single HCI is performed in an optimized cryogenic double Penning-trap setup, utilizing the continuous Stern-Gerlach effect. For injection of externally produced HCI up to 208Pb81+ the ALPHATRAP experiment is coupled to various ion sources, including the Heidelberg Electron-Beam Ion Trap. This thesis describes the setup and preparation of the ALPHATRAP experiment on its way towards its first g-factor measurement. In this context a new highly sensitive detection system was implemented and successfully tested. This enabled a first commissioning of the whole apparatus with in situ generated HCI as well as HCI injected through the room temperature beamline. The first-time integration of an externally operable cryogenic valve allowed for excellent vacuum conditions with long ion storage times. The implementation of typical ion detection and manipulation techniques was demonstrated by characterization measurements of the detection system and the trapping fields. The commissioning culminated in the first direct observation of induced bound-electron spin transitions at the ALPHATRAP experiment