Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:1106.3447 · Physical Review Letters

Optical Excitation and Decay Dynamics of Ytterbium Atoms Embedded in a Solid Neon Matrix

Chenyu Xu, Shui-Ming Hu, Jaideep Taggart Singh, K. Bailey, Zheng‐Tian Lu, Peter Mueller, Thomas P. O’Connor, U. Welp

Published Aug 22, 2011• 20 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Neutral ytterbium atoms embedded in solid neon qualitatively retain the structure of free atoms. Despite the atom-solid interaction, the 6s6p ³P(0) level is found to remain metastable with its lifetimes determined to be in the range of ten to hundreds of seconds. The atomic population can be almost completely transferred between the ground level and the metastable level via optical excitation and spontaneous decay. The dynamics of this process is examined and is used to explicitly demonstrate that the transition broadening mechanism is homogeneous.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.107.093001

Related papers

Triplet emission of atomic ytterbium isolated in a xenon matrix

Nadezhda N. Kleshchina, Inna S. Kalinina, Ricardo Lewis Lambo +3 more

The electronic transitions of ytterbium atoms in a solid Xe matrix grown at 4.8 K are investigated. Absorption bands are detected in the regions of the gas-phase 6s2 1S0 → 4f135d6s2 and 6s2 1S0 → 6s6p 1P1 transitions. Both bands indicate that Yb atoms occupy multiple trapping sites, of which three are identified. Emission induced by the 6s2 1S0 → 6s6p 1P1 excitation is found to be concentrated entirely in the region of the 6s6p 3PJ → 6s2 1S0 decay, whereas the singlet emission is completely quenched. Multiple emission peaks are observed and the effects of annealing and prolonged irradiation on their amplitudes are found to be significant and are interpreted as a consequence of Yb population transfer from one type of site to another. Modeling of the ground-state site structure and stability predicts three Yb/Xe occupation types, substitutional (ss), tetravacancy (tv) and hexavacancy (hv), in order of decreasing stability. Their tentative associations with observed absorption and emission features are discussed. Time correlated single photon spectroscopy is used to determine the lifetimes of the individual emission bands. They are found to be different from each other with indications of a mixture of short- and long- lived 6s6p 3PJ fine-structure components and demonstrate distinct temperature dependencies. A dramatic decrease in the lifetime of the emission peak tentatively assigned to the most stable site with temperature is explained by a competition between the radiative and non-radiative decay paths of the 6s6p 3P1 state. The mechanism of the latter can be attributed to electron–phonon coupling as confirmed by a model of the temperature-dependence of the lifetime.

Low Temperature Physics•Jul 1, 2019•4 citations

Probing ultracold ytterbium in optical lattices with resonant light : from coherent control to dissipative dynamics

Raphaël Bouganne

In this manuscript I present an experimental investigation of the dynamics of an ultracold gas of bosonic ytterbium loaded into optical lattices and exposed to resonant light. The interaction between atoms and light makes it possible to study the coherence properties of the gas. The resonant driving is performed on the relevant optical transitions featured by ytterbium. On the one hand, I demonstrate the coherent driving of the internal state of the atoms on the clock transition, the excited state of which is metastable and can not spontaneously decay, thus preserving the coherence of the gas. The temporal internal dynamics in a deep lattice allows me to measure the collisional properties at low temperature for both clock states. On the other hand, I use the spontaneously emitted photons of the intercombination transition excited level to induce a coupling to the atomic external degrees of freedom. I present the momentum diffusion of a superfluid excited on this transition. Strong interactions between atoms slow down the decoherence and lead to an anomalous sub-diffusive relaxation. A simple model comprising atomic motion, interactions and dissipation accounts for our observations. A theoretical study of the dissipative dynamics in optical lattices sheds light on complementary phenomena such as induced dipole-dipole interactions or collective effects in spontaneous emission.

•Sep 24, 2018•0 citations

Collision-Induced Transitions within Excited Levels of Neon

Joel H. Parks, Ali Javan

The interaction of an intense optical-maser field with excited atoms in a gas discharge leads to a considerable change in the population of those levels which are resonant at the maser frequency. This will cause a change in the population of other levels that are connected to the maser levels through collision-induced nonradiative as well as radiative transitions. Using the 1.15-\ensuremath{\mu} optical maser, these effects have been studied in detail for the $2s$ levels of neon where the changes are completely due to collisions. By analyzing the intensity changes in spontaneous emission originating from a gas-discharge cell placed within the maser resonator, we have observed the approach to a partial thermalization of two closely spaced levels. In this way we have been able to obtain the atomic-collision cross section for excitation transfer between the $2{s}_{2}$ and $2{s}_{3}$ levels. In pure neon this has been found to be ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{23}=(2.3\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.3)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}16}$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^{2}$. For a helium-neon mixture the measured cross section is ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{23}=(1.8\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.3)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}16}$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^{2}$. The experimental method used to determine these cross sections eliminates the uncertainties caused by the effects of electron-atom collisions and radiative cascade. These techniques also yield the ratio of the Einstein coefficients for the transitions $2{s}_{2}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}2{p}_{10}$ and $2{s}_{3}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}2{p}_{10}$. The measured ratio is $\frac{{A}_{2}}{{A}_{3}}=3.0\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.4$.

Physical Review•Aug 30, 1965•44 citations

Dynamic polarizabilities and related properties of clock states of the ytterbium atom

V. A. Dzuba, Andrei Derevianko

We carry out relativistic many-body calculations of the static and dynamic dipole polarizabilities of the ground 6s 2 1 S 0 and the first excited 6s6p 3 P o 0 states of Yb. With these polarizabilities, we compute several properties of Yb relevant to optical lattice clocks operating on the 6s 2 1 S 0 –6s6p 3 P o 0 transition. We determine (i) the first four magic wavelengths of the laser field for which the frequency of the clock transition is insensitive to the laser intensity. While the first magic wavelength is known, we predict the second, the third and the fourth magic wavelengths to be 551 nm, 465 nm and 413 nm. (ii) We re-evaluate the effect of black-body radiation on the frequency of the clock transition, the resulting clock shift at T = 300 K being −1.41(17) Hz. (iii) We compute long-range interatomic van der Waals coefficients (in a.u.) C 6 (6s 2 1 S 0 + 6s 2 1 S 0 ) = 1909(160), C 6 (6s 2 1 S 0 + 6s6p 3 P 0 ) = 2709(338) and C 6 (6s6p 3 P 0 + 6s6p 3 P 0 ) = 3886(360). Finally, we determine the atom-wall interaction coefficients (in a.u.), C 3 (6s 2 1 S 0 ) = 3.34 and C 3 (6s6p 3 P 0 ) = 3.68. We also address and resolve a disagreement between previous calculations of the static polarizability of the ground state.

arXiv:0908.2278•Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics•Mar 19, 2010•110 citations

Laser Cooling of a Neon Atomic Beam in Metastable States

Fujio Shimizu, Kazuko Shimizu, Hiroshi Takuma

A neon atomic beam in the 1s5 (J=2) metastable level is cooled by a counterpropagating laser beam using 1s5-2p9 transition. By transferring the 1s5 population to the 1s3 (J=0) metastable level using the optical pumping through 2p2, a cooled 1s3 beam is also generated.

Japanese Journal of Applied Physics•Nov 1, 1987•19 citations

Photoassociation Spectroscopy of Laser-Cooled Ytterbium Atoms

Yosuke Takasu, Kaduki Komori, Keita HONDA +3 more

We report the photoassociation spectroscopy of laser-cooled ytterbium atoms in an optical trap. We observed more than 90 photoassociation resonances of vibrational levels in the (1)Sigma(+)(u) state, including 80 consecutive series, up to 490 GHz detuning with respect to the atomic resonance. From the resonance frequencies we derived the atomic radiative lifetime of the (6s6p) 1P1 state to be 5.464+/-0.005 ns, which is about 2 orders of magnitude improvement over previous results. We also observed line broadening of resonances, which is ascribed to the predissociation to the triplet states, and estimated the transition probability to be 0.2. Furthermore, we observed the decrease of the photoassociation signal intensity, from which the scattering length is estimated to be equal to or less than 3 nm.

Physical Review Letters•Sep 15, 2004•73 citations
Neutral ytterbium atoms embedded in solid neon qualitatively retain the structure of free atoms. Despite the atom-solid interaction, the 6s6p ³P(0) level is found to remain metastable with its lifetimes determined to be in the range of ten to hundreds of seconds. The atomic population can be almost completely transferred between the ground level and the metastable level via optical excitation and spontaneous decay. The dynamics of this process is examined and is used to explicitly demonstrate that the transition broadening mechanism is homogeneous.
The electronic transitions of ytterbium atoms in a solid Xe matrix grown at 4.8 K are investigated. Absorption bands are detected in the regions of the gas-phase 6s2 1S0 → 4f135d6s2 and 6s2 1S0 → 6s6p 1P1 transitions. Both bands indicate that Yb atoms occupy multiple trapping sites, of which three are identified. Emission induced by the 6s2 1S0 → 6s6p 1P1 excitation is found to be concentrated entirely in the region of the 6s6p 3PJ → 6s2 1S0 decay, whereas the singlet emission is completely quenched. Multiple emission peaks are observed and the effects of annealing and prolonged irradiation on their amplitudes are found to be significant and are interpreted as a consequence of Yb population transfer from one type of site to another. Modeling of the ground-state site structure and stability predicts three Yb/Xe occupation types, substitutional (ss), tetravacancy (tv) and hexavacancy (hv), in order of decreasing stability. Their tentative associations with observed absorption and emission features are discussed. Time correlated single photon spectroscopy is used to determine the lifetimes of the individual emission bands. They are found to be different from each other with indications of a mixture of short- and long- lived 6s6p 3PJ fine-structure components and demonstrate distinct temperature dependencies. A dramatic decrease in the lifetime of the emission peak tentatively assigned to the most stable site with temperature is explained by a competition between the radiative and non-radiative decay paths of the 6s6p 3P1 state. The mechanism of the latter can be attributed to electron–phonon coupling as confirmed by a model of the temperature-dependence of the lifetime.
In this manuscript I present an experimental investigation of the dynamics of an ultracold gas of bosonic ytterbium loaded into optical lattices and exposed to resonant light. The interaction between atoms and light makes it possible to study the coherence properties of the gas. The resonant driving is performed on the relevant optical transitions featured by ytterbium. On the one hand, I demonstrate the coherent driving of the internal state of the atoms on the clock transition, the excited state of which is metastable and can not spontaneously decay, thus preserving the coherence of the gas. The temporal internal dynamics in a deep lattice allows me to measure the collisional properties at low temperature for both clock states. On the other hand, I use the spontaneously emitted photons of the intercombination transition excited level to induce a coupling to the atomic external degrees of freedom. I present the momentum diffusion of a superfluid excited on this transition. Strong interactions between atoms slow down the decoherence and lead to an anomalous sub-diffusive relaxation. A simple model comprising atomic motion, interactions and dissipation accounts for our observations. A theoretical study of the dissipative dynamics in optical lattices sheds light on complementary phenomena such as induced dipole-dipole interactions or collective effects in spontaneous emission.
The interaction of an intense optical-maser field with excited atoms in a gas discharge leads to a considerable change in the population of those levels which are resonant at the maser frequency. This will cause a change in the population of other levels that are connected to the maser levels through collision-induced nonradiative as well as radiative transitions. Using the 1.15-\ensuremath{\mu} optical maser, these effects have been studied in detail for the 2s2s2s levels of neon where the changes are completely due to collisions. By analyzing the intensity changes in spontaneous emission originating from a gas-discharge cell placed within the maser resonator, we have observed the approach to a partial thermalization of two closely spaced levels. In this way we have been able to obtain the atomic-collision cross section for excitation transfer between the 2s22{s}_{2}2s2​ and 2s32{s}_{3}2s3​ levels. In pure neon this has been found to be ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{23}=(2.3\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.3)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}16}$ cm2{\mathrm{cm}}^{2}cm2. For a helium-neon mixture the measured cross section is ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{23}=(1.8\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.3)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}16}$ cm2{\mathrm{cm}}^{2}cm2. The experimental method used to determine these cross sections eliminates the uncertainties caused by the effects of electron-atom collisions and radiative cascade. These techniques also yield the ratio of the Einstein coefficients for the transitions $2{s}_{2}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}2{p}_{10}$ and $2{s}_{3}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}2{p}_{10}$. The measured ratio is $\frac{{A}_{2}}{{A}_{3}}=3.0\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.4$.
We carry out relativistic many-body calculations of the static and dynamic dipole polarizabilities of the ground 6s 2 1 S 0 and the first excited 6s6p 3 P o 0 states of Yb. With these polarizabilities, we compute several properties of Yb relevant to optical lattice clocks operating on the 6s 2 1 S 0 –6s6p 3 P o 0 transition. We determine (i) the first four magic wavelengths of the laser field for which the frequency of the clock transition is insensitive to the laser intensity. While the first magic wavelength is known, we predict the second, the third and the fourth magic wavelengths to be 551 nm, 465 nm and 413 nm. (ii) We re-evaluate the effect of black-body radiation on the frequency of the clock transition, the resulting clock shift at T = 300 K being −1.41(17) Hz. (iii) We compute long-range interatomic van der Waals coefficients (in a.u.) C 6 (6s 2 1 S 0 + 6s 2 1 S 0 ) = 1909(160), C 6 (6s 2 1 S 0 + 6s6p 3 P 0 ) = 2709(338) and C 6 (6s6p 3 P 0 + 6s6p 3 P 0 ) = 3886(360). Finally, we determine the atom-wall interaction coefficients (in a.u.), C 3 (6s 2 1 S 0 ) = 3.34 and C 3 (6s6p 3 P 0 ) = 3.68. We also address and resolve a disagreement between previous calculations of the static polarizability of the ground state.
We report the photoassociation spectroscopy of laser-cooled ytterbium atoms in an optical trap. We observed more than 90 photoassociation resonances of vibrational levels in the (1)Sigma(+)(u) state, including 80 consecutive series, up to 490 GHz detuning with respect to the atomic resonance. From the resonance frequencies we derived the atomic radiative lifetime of the (6s6p) 1P1 state to be 5.464+/-0.005 ns, which is about 2 orders of magnitude improvement over previous results. We also observed line broadening of resonances, which is ascribed to the predissociation to the triplet states, and estimated the transition probability to be 0.2. Furthermore, we observed the decrease of the photoassociation signal intensity, from which the scattering length is estimated to be equal to or less than 3 nm.