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AIP conference proceedings

Precision Measurement Based on Ultracold Atoms and Cold Molecules

Jun Ye, Sebastian Blatt, Martin M. Boyd, Seth M. Foreman, Eric R. Hudson, T. Ido, Benjamin Lev, Andrew D. Ludlow, Brian C. Sawyer, Benjamin Stuhl, Tanya Zelevinsky

Published Jan 1, 2006• 4 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Ultracold atoms and molecules provide ideal stages for precision tests of fundamental physics. With microkelvin neutral strontium atoms confined in an optical lattice, we have achieved a fractional resolution of 4 × 10−15 on the 1S0 − 3P0 doubly‐forbidden 87Sr clock transition at 698 nm. The overall systematic uncertainty of the clock is evaluated below the 10−15 level. The ultrahigh spectral resolution permits resolving the nuclear spin states of the clock transition at small magnetic fields, leading to measurements of the 3P0 magnetic moment and metastable lifetime. In addition, photoassociation spectroscopy performed on the narrow 1S0 − 3P1 transition of 88Sr shows promise for efficient optical tuning of the ground state scattering length and production of ultracold ground‐state molecules. Lattice‐confined Sr2 molecules are suitable for constraining the time‐variation of electron‐proton mass ratio. In a separate experiment, cold, ground state polar molecules produced from Stark decelerators have enabled an order of magnitude improvement in measurement precision of ground‐state, Λ‐doublet microwave transitions in the OH molecule. Comparing the laboratory results to those from OH megamasers in interstellar space will allow a sensitivity of 10−6 for measuring the potential time variation of the fundamental fine structure constant Δα/α over 1010 years. These results have also led to improved understandings in the molecular structure. The study of the low magnetic field behavior of OH in its 2Π3/2 ro‐vibronic ground state precisely determines a differential Landé g‐factor between opposite parity components of the Λ‐doublet.

DOI
10.1063/1.2400637

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PRECISION MEASUREMENT BASED ON ULTRACOLD ATOMS AND COLD MOLECULES

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Ultracold atoms and molecules provide ideal stages for precision tests of fundamental physics. With microkelvin neutral strontium atoms confined in an optical lattice, we have achieved a fractional resolution of 4 × 10-15 on the 1S0–3P0 doubly forbidden 87 Sr clock transition at 698 nm. Measurements of the clock line shifts as a function of experimental parameters indicate systematic errors below the 10-15 level. The ultrahigh spectral resolution permits resolving the nuclear spin states of the clock transition at small magnetic fields, leading to measurements of the 3P0 magnetic moment and metastable lifetime. In addition, photoassociation spectroscopy performed on the narrow 1S0–3P1 transition of 88 Sr shows promise for efficient optical tuning of the ground state scattering length and production of ultracold ground state molecules. Lattice-confined Sr 2 molecules are suitable for constraining the time variation of the proton–electron mass ratio. In a separate experiment, cold, stable, ground state polar molecules are produced from Stark decelerators. These cold samples have enabled an order-of-magnitude improvement in the measurement precision of ground state, Λ doublet microwave transitions in the OH molecule. Comparing the laboratory results to those from OH megamasers in interstellar space will allow a sensitivity of 10-6 for measuring the potential time variation of the fundamental fine structure constant Δα/α over 1010 years. These results have also led to improved understandings of the molecular structure. The study of the low magnetic field behavior of OH in its 2Π3/2 ro-vibronic ground state precisely determines a differential Landé g factor between opposite parity components of the Λ doublet.

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Abstract : We have established the strontium molecular clock as the leading ultracold-molecule precision measurement platform. We can fully control the molecules internal and external quantum states, as in state-of-the-art atomic lattice clocks. Using the quantized molecular spectra in an optical lattice, we devised a new lattice thermometry method that is advantageous for many lattice experiments, including clocks and manybody physics studies. The full quantum control allowed us to observe deeply subradiant molecular states, and coherently control them. We measured lifetimes enhanced by up to 300 times. Ultranarrow transitions to these states permitted a rigorous study of asymptotic physics at the atom-molecule threshold. We proved that subradiant states can decay to the ground state via higher-order electromagnetic transitions, with a rate that grows as the square of the bond length, and are quenched by predissociation at a rate proportional to the vibrational level spacing. We introduced a precise technique for measuring molecular binding energies via photofragmentation; controlled forbidden optical transition strengths with weak magnetic fields by five orders of magnitude; and explained anomalously large magnetic susceptibilities of the asymptotic molecules. The unprecedented precision, coupled with advanced ab initio theory, paves the way to exciting new directions for the molecular clock.

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Prospects for application of ultracold Sr2 molecules in precision measurements

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Precision measurements with ultracold molecules require development of robust and sensitive techniques to produce and interrogate the molecules. With this goal, we theoretically analyze factors that affect frequency measurements between rovibrational levels of the ${\mathrm{Sr}}_{2}$ molecule in the electronic ground state. This measurement can be used to constrain the possible time variation of the proton-electron mass ratio. ${\mathrm{Sr}}_{2}$ is expected to be a strong candidate for achieving high precision due to the spinless nature and ease of cooling and perturbation-free trapping of Sr [T. Zelevinsky et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 043201 (2008)]. The analysis includes calculations of two-photon transition dipole moments between deeply and weakly bound vibrational levels, lifetimes of intermediate excited states, and Stark shifts of the vibrational levels by the optical lattice field, including possibilities of Stark-cancellation trapping.

arXiv:0811.3971•Physical Review A•Jan 8, 2009•48 citations
Ultracold atoms and molecules provide ideal stages for precision tests of fundamental physics. With microkelvin neutral strontium atoms confined in an optical lattice, we have achieved a fractional resolution of 4 × 10−15 on the 1S0 − 3P0 doubly‐forbidden 87Sr clock transition at 698 nm. The overall systematic uncertainty of the clock is evaluated below the 10−15 level. The ultrahigh spectral resolution permits resolving the nuclear spin states of the clock transition at small magnetic fields, leading to measurements of the 3P0 magnetic moment and metastable lifetime. In addition, photoassociation spectroscopy performed on the narrow 1S0 − 3P1 transition of 88Sr shows promise for efficient optical tuning of the ground state scattering length and production of ultracold ground‐state molecules. Lattice‐confined Sr2 molecules are suitable for constraining the time‐variation of electron‐proton mass ratio. In a separate experiment, cold, ground state polar molecules produced from Stark decelerators have enabled an order of magnitude improvement in measurement precision of ground‐state, Λ‐doublet microwave transitions in the OH molecule. Comparing the laboratory results to those from OH megamasers in interstellar space will allow a sensitivity of 10−6 for measuring the potential time variation of the fundamental fine structure constant Δα/α over 1010 years. These results have also led to improved understandings in the molecular structure. The study of the low magnetic field behavior of OH in its 2Π3/2 ro‐vibronic ground state precisely determines a differential Landé g‐factor between opposite parity components of the Λ‐doublet.
Ultracold atoms and molecules provide ideal stages for precision tests of fundamental physics. With microkelvin neutral strontium atoms confined in an optical lattice, we have achieved a fractional resolution of 4 × 10-15 on the 1S0–3P0 doubly forbidden 87 Sr clock transition at 698 nm. Measurements of the clock line shifts as a function of experimental parameters indicate systematic errors below the 10-15 level. The ultrahigh spectral resolution permits resolving the nuclear spin states of the clock transition at small magnetic fields, leading to measurements of the 3P0 magnetic moment and metastable lifetime. In addition, photoassociation spectroscopy performed on the narrow 1S0–3P1 transition of 88 Sr shows promise for efficient optical tuning of the ground state scattering length and production of ultracold ground state molecules. Lattice-confined Sr 2 molecules are suitable for constraining the time variation of the proton–electron mass ratio. In a separate experiment, cold, stable, ground state polar molecules are produced from Stark decelerators. These cold samples have enabled an order-of-magnitude improvement in the measurement precision of ground state, Λ doublet microwave transitions in the OH molecule. Comparing the laboratory results to those from OH megamasers in interstellar space will allow a sensitivity of 10-6 for measuring the potential time variation of the fundamental fine structure constant Δα/α over 1010 years. These results have also led to improved understandings of the molecular structure. The study of the low magnetic field behavior of OH in its 2Π3/2 ro-vibronic ground state precisely determines a differential Landé g factor between opposite parity components of the Λ doublet.
— Modern capabilities in quantum state engineering of ultracold matter and precise control of light fields now permit accurate control of interactions between matter and field to suit applications for precision tests of fundamental physics. We report on our recent development of a highly stable and accurate optical atomic clock based on ultracold neutral Sr atoms confined in an optical lattice. We discuss precision tools for the lattice clock, including stabilized lasers with sub-Hz linewidth, femtosecond-comb based technology allowing accurate clock comparison in both microwave and optical domains, and clock transfer over optical fibers. With microkelvin Sr atoms confined in an optical lattice that provide a zero differential a.c. Stark shift between two clock states, we achieve a resonance quality factor >2×10 on the S0 − P0 doubly forbidden Sr clock transition at 698 nm. High resolution spectroscopy of spin-polarized atoms is used for both high-performance clock operations and accurate atomic structure measurement. The overall systematic uncertainty of the clock has been evaluated at the 10−16 level, while the stability approaches low 10−15 at 1 s. These developments in precise engineering of lightatom interactions can be extended to the field of ultracold molecules, bringing new prospects for precision measurements, quantum control, and determinations of the constancy of the fundamental constants.
Abstract : We have established the strontium molecular clock as the leading ultracold-molecule precision measurement platform. We can fully control the molecules internal and external quantum states, as in state-of-the-art atomic lattice clocks. Using the quantized molecular spectra in an optical lattice, we devised a new lattice thermometry method that is advantageous for many lattice experiments, including clocks and manybody physics studies. The full quantum control allowed us to observe deeply subradiant molecular states, and coherently control them. We measured lifetimes enhanced by up to 300 times. Ultranarrow transitions to these states permitted a rigorous study of asymptotic physics at the atom-molecule threshold. We proved that subradiant states can decay to the ground state via higher-order electromagnetic transitions, with a rate that grows as the square of the bond length, and are quenched by predissociation at a rate proportional to the vibrational level spacing. We introduced a precise technique for measuring molecular binding energies via photofragmentation; controlled forbidden optical transition strengths with weak magnetic fields by five orders of magnitude; and explained anomalously large magnetic susceptibilities of the asymptotic molecules. The unprecedented precision, coupled with advanced ab initio theory, paves the way to exciting new directions for the molecular clock.
Highest-resolution laser spectroscopy has generally been limited to single trapped ion systems because of the rapid decoherence that plagues neutral atom ensembles. Precision spectroscopy of ultracold neutral atoms confined in a trapping potential now shows superior optical coherence without any deleterious effects from motional degrees of freedom, revealing optical resonance linewidths at the hertz level with a good signal-to-noise ratio. The resonance quality factor of 2.4 x 10(14) is the highest ever recovered in any form of coherent spectroscopy. The spectral resolution permits direct observation of the breaking of nuclear spin degeneracy for the 1S0 and 3P0 optical clock states of 87Sr under a small magnetic bias field. This optical approach for excitation of nuclear spin states allows an accurate measurement of the differential Landé g factor between 1S0 and 3P0. The optical atomic coherence demonstrated for collective excitation of a large number of atoms will have a strong impact on quantum measurement and precision frequency metrology.
Ultracold molecules are a powerful platform for metrology, precision measurements and searches for new, beyond-the-Standard-Model physics. Sr2, thanks to its simple structure, insensitivity to external fields and narrow optical transitions, provides an excellent testbed for the search for new interactions. Here, we present a detailed characterization of our 88Sr2 molecular clock for a vibrational transition spanning the entire depth of the ground state potential. We also discuss prospects to use strontium isotopologues to place improved constraints on new mass-dependent forces, including possible pathways toward the production of ultracold 86Sr2 and 84Sr2 dimers and spectroscopy of clock lines in these species for use in the search for new mass-dependent forces.
Precision measurements with ultracold molecules require development of robust and sensitive techniques to produce and interrogate the molecules. With this goal, we theoretically analyze factors that affect frequency measurements between rovibrational levels of the Sr2{\mathrm{Sr}}_{2}Sr2​ molecule in the electronic ground state. This measurement can be used to constrain the possible time variation of the proton-electron mass ratio. Sr2{\mathrm{Sr}}_{2}Sr2​ is expected to be a strong candidate for achieving high precision due to the spinless nature and ease of cooling and perturbation-free trapping of Sr [T. Zelevinsky et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 043201 (2008)]. The analysis includes calculations of two-photon transition dipole moments between deeply and weakly bound vibrational levels, lifetimes of intermediate excited states, and Stark shifts of the vibrational levels by the optical lattice field, including possibilities of Stark-cancellation trapping.