We report the results of experimental investigations aimed at creation of the optical frequency standard based on magnesium atoms cooled and localised in a magneto-optical trap (MOT). An experimentally realised MOT for magnesium made it possible to obtain a cloud comprising atoms at a temperature of . The results of ultra-high resolution spectroscopy of intercombination transition for Mg atom are presented, the resonances in time-domain separated optical fields with the half-width of are recorded, which corresponds to the -factor of the reference line .
Neutral atom qubits with Rydberg-mediated interactions are a leading platform for developing large-scale coherent quantum systems. In the majority of experiments to date, the Rydberg states are not trapped by the same potential that confines ground state atoms, resulting in atom loss and constraints on the achievable interaction time. In this work, we demonstrate that the Rydberg states of an alkaline earth atom, ytterbium, can be stably trapped by the same red-detuned optical tweezer that also confines the ground state, by leveraging the polarizability of the Yb
+ ion core. Using the previously unobserved \tripletS series, we demonstrate trapped Rydberg atom lifetimes exceeding
100μs, and observe no evidence of auto- or photo-ionization from the trap light for these states. We measure a coherence time of
T2=59 μs between two Rydberg levels, exceeding the 28
μs lifetime of untrapped Rydberg atoms under the same conditions. These results are promising for extending the interaction time of Rydberg atom arrays for quantum simulation and computing, and are vital to capitalize on the extended Rydberg lifetimes in circular states or cryogenic environments.