Space-charge effects in Penning ion traps

The influence of space-charge on ion cyclotron resonances and magnetron eigenfrequency in a gas-filled Penning ion trap has been investigated. Off-line measurements with K+39 using the cooling trap of the WITCH retardation spectrometer-based setup at ISOLDE/CERN were performed. Experimental ion cyclotron resonances were compared with ab initio Coulomb simulations and found to be in agreement. As an important systematic effect of the WITCH experiment, the magnetron eigenfrequency of the ion cloud was studied under increasing space-charge conditions. Finally, the helium buffer gas pressure in the Penning trap was determined by comparing experimental cooling rates with simulations.