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Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe & European Quantum Electronics Conference (CLEO/Europe-EQEC)

Rydberg atoms in an optical lattice for high precision measurements of blackbody temperatures

Andrei Derevianko, Kurt Gibble, Vitaly D. Ovsiannikov

Published May 1, 2011• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

The high-precision spectroscopy of atoms in optical lattices requires a detailed account for the influence of external factors on atomic properties. Together with the lattice radiation, an important irremovable perturbation on the positions and widths of atomic energy levels may be imparted by the ubiquitous blackbody radiation (BBR) of environment. To effectively control this perturbation, the parameters of the BBR should be known with essential precision, together with the dependence of atomic properties on the BBR characteristics. The basic characteristic of the BBR is its temperature. Therefore high-precision determination of the BBR temperature is an important problem for fundamental measurements of spectroscopic parameters in atoms confined to an optical lattices, in particular, for the lattice-based time and frequency standards.

DOI
10.1109/cleoe.2011.5943460

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The high-precision spectroscopy of atoms in optical lattices requires a detailed account for the influence of external factors on atomic properties. Together with the lattice radiation, an important irremovable perturbation on the positions and widths of atomic energy levels may be imparted by the ubiquitous blackbody radiation (BBR) of environment. To effectively control this perturbation, the parameters of the BBR should be known with essential precision, together with the dependence of atomic properties on the BBR characteristics. The basic characteristic of the BBR is its temperature. Therefore high-precision determination of the BBR temperature is an important problem for fundamental measurements of spectroscopic parameters in atoms confined to an optical lattices, in particular, for the lattice-based time and frequency standards.
Ytterbium lattice frequency standard is an outstanding optical clock with a demonstrated relative frequency accuracy of 3.4·10-16, presently limited by the uncertainty on the blackbody radiation (BBR), lattice polarizabilities and cold collisions shifts. In particular the BBR shift is looming as a major component in the uncertainty budget of many optical frequency standards. In fact the uncertainty on BBR systematic shift in Ytterbium atoms is due both to experimental and theoretical limits in the knowledge of the atomic system: presently Ytterbium has the largest theoretical uncertainty on the BBR shift. Then, both for atomic physics and metrology, new measurements of the Ytterbium atomic properties are strongly demanded, such as the determination of transition matrix elements, lifetimes, branching ratios, polarizabilities and hyperfine constants. In this work we present a set of new measurements for the radiative decay and for the cold collisions trap losses in laser-cooled Ytterbium atoms. These data are relevant to the blackbody radiation shift evaluation and to the cold collisions shift theory.
We show that optical spectroscopy of Rydberg states can provide accurate in situ thermometry at room temperature. Transitions from a metastable state to Rydberg states with principal quantum numbers of 25-30 have 200 times larger fractional frequency sensitivities to blackbody radiation than the strontium clock transition. We demonstrate that magic-wavelength lattices exist for both strontium and ytterbium transitions between the metastable and Rydberg states. Frequency measurements of Rydberg transitions with 10(-16) accuracy provide 10 mK resolution and yield a blackbody uncertainty for the clock transition of 10(-18).
Rydberg atoms are highly excited atoms that have large sensitivities to external fields, lending these atoms extraordinary characteristics for fundamental high-precision spectroscopy as well as for electromagnetic-field sensing applications. Recent results on high-precision spectroscopy with cold Rydberg atoms in modulated optical lattices are presented. The discussed approach can serve as a platform for fundamental-physics studies, which include a model-insensitive measurement of the Rydberg constant and a search for wave-like dark matter. As an example for the utility of Rydberg atoms in field sensing applications, an experiment is presented in which the linear Stark effect of cold Rydberg atoms is employed to measure electric fields in cold ion clouds, demonstrating that Rydberg laser spectroscopy allows electrode-free, non-invasive plasma diagnostics.
Accurate measurement of atomic temperature is fundamental for a wide range of applications, from quantum sensing to precision metrology. In optical lattice clocks, precise characterization of atomic temperature is required to minimize systematic uncertainties at the 10−1810^{-18}10−18 level. In this work, we investigate atomic temperature measurements in the ytterbium optical clock developed at INRIM, IT-Yb1, employing sideband and transverse Doppler spectroscopy across a wide range of trapping conditions in a one-dimensional optical lattice. By implementing clock-line-mediated Sisyphus cooling [Phys. Rev. Lett. 133, 053401 (2024)], we reduce the atomic temperature and enable operation at shallower lattice depths down to D=50 ERD = 50\,E_\text{R}D=50ER​, where ERE_\text{R}ER​ is the photon recoil energy. We compare temperature estimates obtained from the perturbed harmonic oscillator model with those derived using a Born-Oppenheimer model [Phys. Rev. A 101, 053416 (2020)]. Discrepancies of up to a factor of four are observed between the temperature estimates obtained with the two approximations. We assess the impact of these modeling differences on the evaluation of lattice light shifts and find relative frequency deviations of up to 8×10−178\times10^{-17}8×10−17. Although sufficiently low atomic temperatures and the consistent use of theoretical models reduce these discrepancies to the low 10−1810^{-18}10−18 level, these results motivate further investigations that will be relevant to state-of-the-art optical lattice clocks.
Using cold atoms, I probe the energy-level intervals between Rydberg states to high spectroscopic precision. The focus of this work is to lay the groundwork for an updated, highly-controlled measurement of the Rydberg constant using circular-state Rydberg atoms, needed to resolve a recent conflict in proton-radius values that arose in 2010 (the so-called 'proton radius puzzle'). Toward this end, I have demonstrated a fundamentally-new mechanism with which to drive atomic (Rydberg-Rydberg) transitions, utilizing an inelastic (state-changing) ponderomotive interaction. Until now, the multipole-field interaction has been the sole mechanism on which spectroscopy of atomic transitions has been based. In this work, the state-changing ponderomotive interaction ('ponderomotive spectroscopy') is demonstrated by amplitude-modulating an optical standing wave at a transition resonance of a Rydberg atom. At the core of this new spectroscopic technique is the requirement that the light intensity must be modulated in space within the atomic volume, and in time at the desired atomic transition frequency. A Rydberg atom in a modulated optical lattice is very well-suited for a demonstration of this novel type of spectroscopy. Magic-wavelength conditions of this interaction are also identified, as well as a method to drive transitions at harmonics of the modulation. Both of these features of ponderomotive spectroscopy will be utilized to simultaneously trap and probe Rydberg atoms to perform the Rydberg constant measurement. I also present a high-precision measurement of the quantum defect of a high-angular-momentum state of rubidium, the atomic species that will be used in the Rydberg constant measurement. The quantum defects of high-angular-momentum states are needed to determine the effect of the rubidium core polarizability on the Rydberg constant measurement, which is anticipated to be a leading uncertainty. Finally, I present the background and design work for a measurement of the Rydberg constant specifically tailored to help resolve the proton radius puzzle, thereby completing the major preliminary work needed for the performance of that high-precision measurement.
The Stark shift due to blackbody radiation (BBR) is the key factor limiting the performance of many atomic frequency standards, with the BBR environment inside the clock apparatus being difficult to characterize at a high level of precision. Here we demonstrate an in-vacuum radiation shield that furnishes a uniform, well-characterized BBR environment for the atoms in an ytterbium optical lattice clock. Operated at room temperature, this shield enables specification of the BBR environment to a corresponding fractional clock uncertainty contribution of 5.5×10(-19). Combined with uncertainty in the atomic response, the total uncertainty of the BBR Stark shift is now 1×10(-18). Further operation of the shield at elevated temperatures enables a direct measure of the BBR shift temperature dependence and demonstrates consistency between our evaluated BBR environment and the expected atomic response.