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Soviet Physics Uspekhi

Measurement of the Lamb shift in the hydrogen atom

Yurii L. Sokolov, Valery P. Yakovlev

Published Oct 31, 1982• 4 citations
Publisher

Abstract

A principle is proposed for the observation of the stationary interference pattern of two phase-shifted components of the 2p (or 2s) state of the hydrogen atom (Yu. L. Sokolov, Sov. Phys. JETP 36, 243 (1973)); (Proc. 6-th Internat. Conf. on Atomic Phys., Riga, 1978, p. 207). An atomic interferometer, a device analogous in principle to a two-channel optical (such as Michelson's) interferometer, is used to measure the frequency of the (2s/sub 1/2/, F = 0)--(2p/sub 1/2/, F = 0) transition in the hydrogen atom, which is found to equal 909.9014 +- 0.0019 MHz. The corresponding Lamb shift is delta(H, n = 2) = 1057.8594 +- 0.0019 MHz.

DOI
10.1070/pu1982v025n10abeh004652

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Test of the anisotropy method for Lamb-shift measurements—theory and experiment

G. W. F. Drake, Péter Faragó, Adriaan J. van Wijngaarden

We show that a measurement of the anisotropy in the angular distribution of the quenching radiation emitted by metastable hydrogen and deuterium atoms in an electric field can be used to determine the Lamb shift to an accuracy of at least \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.1%. The method can be extended to the hydrogenic ions, where it offers several advantages over the quench-rate technique used in earlier measurements. The experiment is interpreted by means of a nonperturbative theory of the quenching process, which includes hyperfine structure and time-dependent effects. In the limit of zero field strength, the anisotropies of H and D are measured to be 0.139 01 \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{} 0.000 12 and 0.141 21 \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{} 0.000 14, while the theoretical values are 0.139 078 and 0.141 30, respectively. The corresponding Lamb shifts are 1057.3 \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{} 0.9 MHz and 1058.7 \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{} 1.1 MHz.

Physical Review A•May 1, 1975•30 citations
A principle is proposed for the observation of the stationary interference pattern of two phase-shifted components of the 2p (or 2s) state of the hydrogen atom (Yu. L. Sokolov, Sov. Phys. JETP 36, 243 (1973)); (Proc. 6-th Internat. Conf. on Atomic Phys., Riga, 1978, p. 207). An atomic interferometer, a device analogous in principle to a two-channel optical (such as Michelson's) interferometer, is used to measure the frequency of the (2s/sub 1/2/, F = 0)--(2p/sub 1/2/, F = 0) transition in the hydrogen atom, which is found to equal 909.9014 +- 0.0019 MHz. The corresponding Lamb shift is delta(H, n = 2) = 1057.8594 +- 0.0019 MHz.
We study the stationary interference of the 2S1/2 or 2P1/2 states due to the passage of metastable hydrogen-like helium ions 4He+ through static electric fields. The basic theory of atomic state interference is presented and experimental conditions allowing observation of the interference pattern with a beam of 4He+ ions are analyzed. We show that optimal conditions are within the reach of modern day experimental techniques. We present theoretical interference curves for two types of atomic interferometers and discuss in detail approaches for the precise measurement of the Lamb shift δn=2 = 2S1/2 – 2P1/2 in 4He+. PACS Nos.: 31.30.Jv, 32.70.Fw, 39.10.+j, 39.20.+q
Very narrow saturated double-quantum transitions ($2^{2}S\ensuremath{-}3^{2}S, 3^{2}D$) have been observed for atomic H in a He-H2{\mathrm{H}}_{2}H2​ dc discharge using rf and a cw dye laser. The H $3{P}_{\frac{3}{2}}\ensuremath{-}3{D}_{\frac{3}{2}}$ Lamb shift has been measured directly by comparing single- and double-quantum saturation signals to be - 5.5(0.9) MHz, confirming that 3D323{D}_{\frac{3}{2}}3D23​​ lies lower than the 3P323{P}_{\frac{3}{2}}3P23​​ state. Further applications of the method are discussed.
We show that a measurement of the anisotropy in the angular distribution of the quenching radiation emitted by metastable hydrogen and deuterium atoms in an electric field can be used to determine the Lamb shift to an accuracy of at least \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.1%. The method can be extended to the hydrogenic ions, where it offers several advantages over the quench-rate technique used in earlier measurements. The experiment is interpreted by means of a nonperturbative theory of the quenching process, which includes hyperfine structure and time-dependent effects. In the limit of zero field strength, the anisotropies of H and D are measured to be 0.139 01 \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{} 0.000 12 and 0.141 21 \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{} 0.000 14, while the theoretical values are 0.139 078 and 0.141 30, respectively. The corresponding Lamb shifts are 1057.3 \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{} 0.9 MHz and 1058.7 \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{} 1.1 MHz.