Physical Review Letters

Double-Quantum Saturation Spectroscopy in Hydrogen: Measurement of the 3P32−3D32 Lamb Shift

E. W. Weber, J. E. M. Goldsmith

Published Oct 2, 1978• 17 citations

Abstract

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-${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$ 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 $3{D}_{\frac{3}{2}}$ lies lower than the $3{P}_{\frac{3}{2}}$ state. Further applications of the method are discussed.

DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.41.940

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ATOMIC INTERFEROMETER AND COHERENT MIXING OF 2 S AND 2 P STATES IN THE HYDROGEN ATOM: APPLICATION TO THE LAMB SHIFT MEASUREMENTS

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Physical Review Letters

Double-Quantum Saturation Spectroscopy in Hydrogen: Measurement of the 3P32−3D32 Lamb Shift

E. W. Weber, J. E. M. Goldsmith

Published Oct 2, 1978• 17 citations

Publisher

Abstract

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-

{\mathrm{H}}_{2}

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

3{D}_{\frac{3}{2}}

lies lower than the

3{P}_{\frac{3}{2}}

state. Further applications of the method are discussed.

DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.41.940

Related papers

Optical Resolution of the Lamb Shift in Atomic Hydrogen by Laser Saturation Spectroscopy

Theodor W. Hänsch, I. S. Shahin, ARTHUR L. SCHAWLOW

Nature Physical ScienceJan 1, 197285 citations

Measurement of the Lamb shift in the hydrogen atom

Yurii L. Sokolov, Valery P. Yakovlev

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.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.

Soviet Physics UspekhiOct 31, 19824 citations

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Measurement of the occupation number of metastable atoms in the hyperfine-substate β $_3$ in an atomic hydrogen beamMeasurement of the occupation number of metastable atoms in the hyperfine-substate β$_3$ in an atomic hydrogen beam

Moritz Westphal, R. Engels, Nicolas Faatz +5 more

After its discovery in 1947 by Willis Eugene Lamb and Robert C. Retherford the Lamb shift was used to create Lamb shift polarimeter to separate the $2S_{1/2}$ $\alpha_{1}$ and $\alpha_{2}$ hyperfine substates of hydrogen as well as the $\alpha_{3}$ substate of deuterium. But for a new project at the Technical University of Munich, investigation of the bound-beta decay of a neutron into a hydrogen atom and a neutrino, a Lamb shift polarimeter is needed that is also capable of separating the $\beta_{3}$ substate of hydrogen. Unfortunately, our first attempt to use a Sona transition unit to exchange the occupation numbers between $\alpha_{1}$ and $\beta_{3}$ failed, because of the unexpected complexity of the transitions in this unit [1]. The second idea of using a new kind of spinfilter which uses two radio frequencies to separate all four hyperfine substates of hydrogen also failed. Our third attempt is now to build a transition unit that can induce magnetic dipole transitions between $\alpha_{2}$ and $\beta_{3}$ as well as between $\alpha_{2}$ and $\beta_{4}$ ( $\pi$ transitions, i.e. an exchange of the occupation numbers of these states). This is a similar transition to what is used in atomic beam sources, in this case not for ground state atoms but for metastable atoms, which requires a much lower radio frequency. Another difference of this new idea is the smaller interaction time of the atoms with the photons inside the transition unit due to their much higher velocity of roughly $2\cdot10^5$ m/s compared to velocities of about $10^3$ m/s in an atomic beam source.After its discovery in 1947 by Willis Eugene Lamb and Robert C. Retherford the Lamb shift was used to create Lamb shift polarimeter to separate the $2S_{1/2}$ $\alpha_{1}$ and $\alpha_{2}$ hyperfine substates of hydrogen as well as the $\alpha_{3}$ substate of deuterium. But for a new project at the Technical University of Munich, investigation of the bound-beta decay of a neutron into a hydrogen atom and a neutrino, a Lamb shift polarimeter is needed that is also capable of separating the $\beta_{3}$ substate of hydrogen. Unfortunately, our first attempt to use a Sona transition unit to exchange the occupation numbers between $\alpha_{1}$ and $\beta_{3}$ failed, because of the unexpected complexity of the transitions in this unit [1]. The second idea of using a new kind of spinfilter which uses two radio frequencies to separate all four hyperfine substates of hydrogen also failed. Our third attempt is now to build a transition unit that can induce magnetic dipole transitions between $\alpha_{2}$ and $\beta_{3}$ as well as between $\alpha_{2}$ and $\beta_{4}$ ($\pi$ transitions, i.e. an exchange of the occupation numbers of these states). This is a similar transition to what is used in atomic beam sources, in this case not for ground state atoms but for metastable atoms, which requires a much lower radio frequency. Another difference of this new idea is the smaller interaction time of the atoms with the photons inside the transition unit due to their much higher velocity of roughly $2\cdot10^5$ m/s compared to velocities of about $10^3$ m/s in an atomic beam source.

International Workshop on Polarized Sources and Targets (PST)Mar 14, 20230 citations

Shift and broadening of resolved hydrogen Balmer- α fine-structure lines in helium

E. W. Weber

Accurate values for the density shift and broadening of five isolated ${\mathrm{H}}_{\ensuremath{\alpha}}$ fine-structure transitions have been measured. Doppler-free polarization and double-quantum saturation spectroscopy with a cw dye laser are used in a He dc discharge with 1% ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$ . The negative shifts and the huge broadening values are correctly predicted by an impact-approximation theory taking into account the large cross sections for fine-structure transfer (quenching) collisions and only Van der Waals interaction between ${\mathrm{H}}^{*}$ and He. Consequences of a comparison with the positive shift of the unresolved ${\mathrm{H}}_{\ensuremath{\alpha}}$ line and of the alkali-metal $D$ lines in He buffer gas are discussed. For pressures below 0.1 Torr hfs decoupling collisions give rise to a positive shift of single ${\mathrm{H}}_{\ensuremath{\alpha}}$ fine-structure lines and to a collisional narrowing effect analogous to that observed in nuclear magnetic resonance.Accurate values for the density shift and broadening of five isolated ${\mathrm{H}}_{\ensuremath{\alpha}}$ fine-structure transitions have been measured. Doppler-free polarization and double-quantum saturation spectroscopy with a cw dye laser are used in a He dc discharge with 1% ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$. The negative shifts and the huge broadening values are correctly predicted by an impact-approximation theory taking into account the large cross sections for fine-structure transfer (quenching) collisions and only Van der Waals interaction between ${\mathrm{H}}^{*}$ and He. Consequences of a comparison with the positive shift of the unresolved ${\mathrm{H}}_{\ensuremath{\alpha}}$ line and of the alkali-metal $D$ lines in He buffer gas are discussed. For pressures below 0.1 Torr hfs decoupling collisions give rise to a positive shift of single ${\mathrm{H}}_{\ensuremath{\alpha}}$ fine-structure lines and to a collisional narrowing effect analogous to that observed in nuclear magnetic resonance.

Physical Review ADec 1, 197929 citations

ATOMIC INTERFEROMETER AND COHERENT MIXING OF 2 S AND 2 P STATES IN THE HYDROGEN ATOM: APPLICATION TO THE LAMB SHIFT MEASUREMENTS

Vitalii G Pal'chikov, Yu. L. Sokolov, Valery P. Yakovlev

Symposium on Frequency Standards and MetrologyMay 1, 20020 citations

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-

{\mathrm{H}}_{2}

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

3{D}_{\frac{3}{2}}

lies lower than the

3{P}_{\frac{3}{2}}

state. Further applications of the method are discussed.

Measurement of the occupation number of metastable atoms in the hyperfine-substate β

_3

in an atomic hydrogen beam

After its discovery in 1947 by Willis Eugene Lamb and Robert C. Retherford the Lamb shift was used to create Lamb shift polarimeter to separate the

2S_{1/2}

\alpha_{1}

and

\alpha_{2}

hyperfine substates of hydrogen as well as the

\alpha_{3}

substate of deuterium. But for a new project at the Technical University of Munich, investigation of the bound-beta decay of a neutron into a hydrogen atom and a neutrino, a Lamb shift polarimeter is needed that is also capable of separating the

\beta_{3}

substate of hydrogen. Unfortunately, our first attempt to use a Sona transition unit to exchange the occupation numbers between

\alpha_{1}

and

\beta_{3}

failed, because of the unexpected complexity of the transitions in this unit [1]. The second idea of using a new kind of spinfilter which uses two radio frequencies to separate all four hyperfine substates of hydrogen also failed. Our third attempt is now to build a transition unit that can induce magnetic dipole transitions between

\alpha_{2}

and

\beta_{3}

as well as between

\alpha_{2}

and

\beta_{4}

(

\pi

transitions, i.e. an exchange of the occupation numbers of these states). This is a similar transition to what is used in atomic beam sources, in this case not for ground state atoms but for metastable atoms, which requires a much lower radio frequency. Another difference of this new idea is the smaller interaction time of the atoms with the photons inside the transition unit due to their much higher velocity of roughly

2\cdot10^5

m/s compared to velocities of about

10^3

m/s in an atomic beam source.

{\mathrm{H}}_{2}

. The negative shifts and the huge broadening values are correctly predicted by an impact-approximation theory taking into account the large cross sections for fine-structure transfer (quenching) collisions and only Van der Waals interaction between

{\mathrm{H}}^{*}

and He. Consequences of a comparison with the positive shift of the unresolved ${\mathrm{H}}_{\ensuremath{\alpha}}$ line and of the alkali-metal

D

lines in He buffer gas are discussed. For pressures below 0.1 Torr hfs decoupling collisions give rise to a positive shift of single ${\mathrm{H}}_{\ensuremath{\alpha}}$ fine-structure lines and to a collisional narrowing effect analogous to that observed in nuclear magnetic resonance.