SSP2012 - 5th International Symposium on Symmetries in Subatomic Physics

A single trapped ion opens a promising path for a measurement of atomic parity violation (APV). Since the sensitivity of the APV grows stronger than the third power of the atomic number Z, a single Ra ion is an excellent candidate for APV experiments, enabling a precise measurement of the electroweak mixing angle in the Standard Model of particle physics. Online laser spectroscopy of 209-214Ra+ isotopes in a linear Paul trap provided information on transitions wavelengths and hyperfine structure required for the interpretation of an APV measurement in Ra+. Current experiments are focused on trapping and laser cooling of few Ba+ ions as a precursor for Ra+. Ba ions are trapped and laser cooled in a precision hyperbolic Paul trap as a test. Work towards single ion trapping of Ra+ is in progress.