Hyperfine frequency shift and Zeeman relaxation in alkali-metal-vapor cells with antirelaxation alkene coating
Eric Corsini, Todor S. Karaulanov, M. V. Balabas +1 more
An alkene-based antirelaxation coating for alkali-metal vapor cells exhibiting Zeeman relaxation times up to 77 s was recently identified by Balabas et al. The long relaxation times, two orders of magnitude longer than in paraffin- (alkane-) coated cells, motivate revisiting the question of what the mechanism is underlying wall-collision-induced relaxation and renew interest in applications of alkali-metal vapor cells to secondary frequency standards. We measure the width and frequency shift of the ground-state hyperfine $m{}_{F}=0\ensuremath{\rightarrow}m{}_{F}^{\ensuremath{'}}=0$ transition (clock resonance) in vapor cells with ${}^{85}$Rb and ${}^{87}$Rb atoms, with an alkene antirelaxation coating. We find that the frequency shift is slightly larger than for paraffin-coated cells and that the Zeeman linewidth scales linearly with the hyperfine frequency shift.
Physical Review A•Feb 14, 2013•41 citations