arXiv:1506.06105 · Physical Review A
Observation of the 5p3/2→6p3/2 electric-dipole-forbidden transition in atomic rubidium using optical-optical double-resonance spectroscopy
F. Ponciano-Ojeda, Santiago Hernández-Gómez, O López-Hernández, Cristian Mojica-Casique, Ricardo Colín‐Rodríguez, F. Ramírez-Martínez, J. Flores-Mijangos, Daniel Sahagún, Rocío Jáuregui, J. Jiménez-Mier
Abstract
Direct evidence of excitation of the $5{p}_{3/2}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}6{p}_{3/2}$ electric-dipole-forbidden transition in atomic rubidium is presented. The experiments were performed in a room-temperature rubidium cell with continuous-wave external cavity diode lasers. Optical-optical double-resonance spectroscopy with counterpropagating beams allows the detection of the nondipole transition free of Doppler broadening. The $5{p}_{3/2}$ state is prepared by excitation with a laser locked to the maximum $F$ cyclic transition of the ${D}_{2}$ line, and the forbidden transition is produced by excitation with a 911 nm laser. Production of the forbidden transition is monitored by detection of the 420 nm fluorescence that results from decay of the $6{p}_{3/2}$ state. Spectra with three narrow lines ($\ensuremath{\approx}13$ MHz FWHM) with the characteristic $F\ensuremath{-}1, F$, and $F+1$ splitting of the $6{p}_{3/2}$ hyperfine structure in both rubidium isotopes were obtained. The results are in very good agreement with a direct calculation that takes into account the $5s\ensuremath{\rightarrow}5{p}_{3/2}$ preparation dynamics, the $5{p}_{3/2}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}6{p}_{3/2}$ nondipole excitation geometry, and the $6{p}_{3/2}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}5{s}_{1/2}$ decay. The comparison also shows that the electric-dipole-forbidden transition is a very sensitive probe of the preparation dynamics.