Physics Reports 425 (2006) 1 – 78 www.elsevier.com/locate/physrep High-accuracy mass spectrometry with stored ions Klaus Blaum a, b, ∗ a Institut für Physik, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, 55099 Mainz, Germany b GSI-Darmstadt, Planckstraße 1, 64291 Darmstadt, Germany Accepted 27 October 2005 Available online 18 January 2006 editor: J. Eichler Abstract Like few other parameters, the mass of an atom, and its inherent connection with the atomic and nuclear binding energy is a fundamental property, a unique fingerprint of the atomic nucleus. Each nuclide comes with its own mass value different from all others. For short-lived exotic atomic nuclei the importance of its mass ranges from the verification of nuclear models to a test of the Standard Model, in particular with regard to the weak interaction and the unitarity of the Cabibbo–Kobayashi–Maskawa quark mixing matrix. In addition, accurate mass values are important for a variety of applications that extend beyond nuclear physics. Mass measurements on stable atoms now reach a relative uncertainty of about 10 -11 . This extreme accuracy contributes, among other things, to metrology, for example the determination of fundamental constants and a new definition of the kilogram, and to tests of quantum electrodynamics and fundamental charge, parity, and time reversal symmetry. The introduction of Penning traps and storage rings into the field of mass spectrometry has made this method a prime choice for high-accuracy measurements on short-lived and stable nuclides. This is reflected in the large number of traps in operation, under construction, or planned world-wide. With the development and application of proper cooling and detection methods the trapping technique has the potential to provide the highest sensitivity and accuracy, even for very short-lived nuclides far from stability.This review describes the basics and recent progress made in ion trapping, cooling, and detection for high-accuracy mass measurements with emphasis on Penning traps. Special attention is devoted to the applications of accurate mass values in different fields of physics. © 2005 Elsevier B.V.All rights reserved. PACS: 07.75.+h; 21.10.Dr; 29.20.Dh; 32.10.Bi Keywords: Atomic masses; Binding energy; Ion cooling techniques; Ion detection techniques; Nuclear masses; Paul trap; Penning trap; Storage ring Contents 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................... 2 2. History of atomic and nuclear mass measurements .......................................................................... 6 3. Principles of storage devices for charged particles .......................................................................... 8 3.1. Generation of the electric trapping potential .......................................................................... 8 3.2. Radiofrequency quadrupole and Paul traps ........................................................................... 9 3.3. Penning traps .................................................................................................... 12 3.3.1. Ideal Penning trap ......................................................................................... 12 ∗ Corresponding author at: Institut für Physik, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, 55099 Mainz, Germany. E-mail address: blaumk@uni-mainz.de. 0370-1573/$ - see front matter © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.physrep.2005.10.011