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The Inhomogeneous Light Shift in Alkali Atoms.
James C. Camparo, R. P. Frueholz, C. H. Volk
Abstract
The dynamic Stark shift of an inhomogeneously broadened spectral transition has been studied. Our measurements show a shift in the observed 87 Rb ground-state hyperfine transition, which has a nonlinear dependence on light intensity when the conditions for inhomogeneous broadening are met. The nonlinearity is the result of light-intensity gradients in the signal volume, which produce an inhomogeneously broadened asymmetric microwave transition. We show that our measurements are in full agreement with the second-order perturbation-theory treatment of light-induced energy-level shifts when the effects of inhomogeneities are properly taken into consideration. The effects of inhomogeneous broadening must be carefully considered when one extracts oscillator strengths from light-shift data, or performs high-precision laser spectroscopy. Originator-supplied keywords include: AC stark effect, Atomic clocks, Atomic line shapes, Light shifts.