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arXiv:2601.09585 · Physical Review Letters

High-Resolution Spectroscopy of $^{173}$Yb$^{+}$ Ions

J. Jiang, A. V. Viatkina, Saaswath JK, M. Steinel, M. Filzinger, E. Peik, S. G. Porsev, M. S. Safronova, A. Surzyhkov, N. Huntemann

physics.atom-phhep-exquant-phSubmitted Jan 14, 2026• Announced Jan 15, 2026• 1 citation
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Abstract

Compared to other stable isotopes of $\rm{Yb}^+$, $^{173}\rm{Yb}^+$ has a richer hyperfine structure, which leads to more favorable clock transitions, spectroscopic techniques for probing new physics, and more sophisticated quantum computing architectures. However, to date, its electronic spectrum remains poorly characterized. Here, we report on efficient laser cooling, state preparation, and detection of a single trapped $^{173}\rm{Yb}^+$ ion. The previously unobserved $^2\!S_{1/2} \rightarrow {}^2\!D_{3/2}$ electric quadrupole transition at 436 nm is coherently excited, and the isotope shift between $^{171}\rm{Yb}^+$ and $^{173}\rm{Yb}^+$ on this transition is determined with an uncertainty of 1.4 Hz. Using microwave spectroscopy, we resolve the hyperfine structure (HFS) of the ${}^2\!D_{3/2}$ state with a relative uncertainty below $10^{-8}$. From the HFS measurement data, we infer for ${}^{173}$Yb a nuclear magnetic octupole moment $Ω= -0.062(8)\,({\rm b} \times μ_N)$ with uncertainty reduced by more than 2 orders of magnitude compared to previous studies. The data also allow us to determine hyperfine anomalies for the ${}^2\!S_{1/2}$ and ${}^2\!D_{3/2}$ states.

Journal reference
Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 023001 (2026)
DOI
10.1103/rcdh-s4d7
Comments
7 pages, 3 figures, 4 pages supplemental material, Published in Physical Review Letters. Open Access under CC BY 4.0

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