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Journal of the Optical Society of America

Direct Measurement of Atomic Lifetimes of Cesium and Sodium*

Richard J. Wolff, Sumner P. Davis

Published Apr 1, 1968• 16 citations
Publisher

Abstract

An apparatus has been developed which is capable of measuring radiative lifetimes for energy levels that can be reached in absorption. At present, lifetimes in the range 15 nsec to 5 μsec can be measured, but the range can be extended in both directions. The lifetime of the 7p P232 state of cesium is measured to be 111±6 nsec, in moderately good agreement with one previous determination and with a Bates–Damgaard calculation. The lifetime of the 3p2P states of sodium is measured to be 16.1 ± 1 nsec, in excellent agreement with other measurements.

DOI
10.1364/josa.58.000490

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The lifetimes of nS1/2 and nD5/2 (n = 60–83) cesium Rydberg states are measured accurately in a magneto-optical trap using the field ionization technique and analyzed with the existing theoretical model. The room temperature blackbody radiation (BBR) and interaction between Rydberg atoms can enhance the decay rate and reduce the spontaneous lifetime of the given Rydberg atom. The measured lifetime shows a good agreement with the calculation accounting a room temperature BBR at low enough Rydberg atomic density. The dependence of measured lifetime on atomic density shows that the collision and interaction between Rydberg atoms have a large effect on the lifetime at higher Rydberg atomic density. The scaling laws of n2.55±0.02 for nD5/2 state and n2.30±0.01 for nS1/2 state within n = 60–83 range are obtained and agreement with the model calculation with a relative deviation less than 3%.

Applied Sciences•Mar 5, 2022•5 citations
An apparatus has been developed which is capable of measuring radiative lifetimes for energy levels that can be reached in absorption. At present, lifetimes in the range 15 nsec to 5 μsec can be measured, but the range can be extended in both directions. The lifetime of the 7p P232 state of cesium is measured to be 111±6 nsec, in moderately good agreement with one previous determination and with a Bates–Damgaard calculation. The lifetime of the 3p2P states of sodium is measured to be 16.1 ± 1 nsec, in excellent agreement with other measurements.
The lifetimes of a large number of excited states in the Group II and Group III atoms have been measured.Among these states are the 5s5p3Pj metastable state of Sr and the lowest 3Sj state of Mg, Ca, and Sr.Also measured were the lifetimes of the lowest 2Sa states of Al, Ga, In and Tl, and "2 the lifetimes of several andXD2 states of Ca.The ex cited states were populated by one-and two-step dye laser excitation, and the lifetimes determined by direct observa tion of the subsequent resonance or branching fluorescence.The results obtained for states in the triplet series of the Group II atoms are: t {Sr 3P ) =(21.0 ± 1.0)ysec, r{Mg 3Sl) = (9.7 ± 0.5) nsec, t(Ca 3S 1)= ( 11.7 ± 0.6) nsec,x(Sr 3Sj ) = (12.9± 0.7) nsec.ix CHAPTER X
We have measured lifetimes of sodium sss and ddd levels in the range 17<n<2817<n<2817<n<28. Lifetime shortening due to blackbody radiation has been effectively eliminated by carrying out the measurements in a thermally isolated container cooled to 30 K. The individual lifetimes have been determined to 5% and agree well with calculations based on the Coulombic approximation. The validity of the calculation has been further tested using non-Coulombic methods. An (n∗)3{({n}^{*})}^{3}(n∗)3 scaling law has been obtained from the lifetimes and is accurate to 2.4%.
The lifetimes of nS1/2 and nD5/2 (n = 60–83) cesium Rydberg states are measured accurately in a magneto-optical trap using the field ionization technique and analyzed with the existing theoretical model. The room temperature blackbody radiation (BBR) and interaction between Rydberg atoms can enhance the decay rate and reduce the spontaneous lifetime of the given Rydberg atom. The measured lifetime shows a good agreement with the calculation accounting a room temperature BBR at low enough Rydberg atomic density. The dependence of measured lifetime on atomic density shows that the collision and interaction between Rydberg atoms have a large effect on the lifetime at higher Rydberg atomic density. The scaling laws of n2.55±0.02 for nD5/2 state and n2.30±0.01 for nS1/2 state within n = 60–83 range are obtained and agreement with the model calculation with a relative deviation less than 3%.