Abstract
Negative-ion trapping has been investigated in rotating liquid helium at temperatures above 1.2°K. We report measurements of the ion-capture width versus temperature and electric field (from 5 to 100 V/cm). The theory of the effect is reviewed and discussed and is shown to be in excellent agreement with experiment. Owing mainly to the insensitivity, at low ratios of electric field to temperature, of the capture width to the properties of the ion-vortex potential well, we are able to deduce only that the well must be larger than the ionic mean free path.