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OSA Continuum

Hyperfine structure and isotope shift measurements on spin-forbidden transitions of atomic gadolinium

Upendra M. Adhikari, Kevin D. Battles, Clayton E. Simien

Published Apr 5, 2019• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We present the first measurements of the [Xe]4f75d16s6p$\;^{11}{F_J}$11FJ excited state hyperfine coefficients and isotope shifts of spin-forbidden transitions of atomic gadolinium (Gd) at 726 and 743 nm in a hollow cathode gas discharge. In addition, we performed a King Plot analysis to determine specific mass shift and field shift constants for these lines. Moreover, we observed King Plot nonlinearity for the 743 nm transition, which is an effect recently proposed to aid in searches for hypothetical new light bosons. Spectroscopic results obtained from this study will facilitate the development of more efficient isotope separation techniques, enable narrowband laser cooling of Gd for novel dipolar physics investigations, and foster technological advances in high precision atomic clocks and quantum enhanced metrology.

DOI
10.1364/osac.2.001548

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We present the first measurements of the [Xe]4f75d16s6p  11FJ\;^{11}{F_J}11FJ​11FJ excited state hyperfine coefficients and isotope shifts of spin-forbidden transitions of atomic gadolinium (Gd) at 726 and 743 nm in a hollow cathode gas discharge. In addition, we performed a King Plot analysis to determine specific mass shift and field shift constants for these lines. Moreover, we observed King Plot nonlinearity for the 743 nm transition, which is an effect recently proposed to aid in searches for hypothetical new light bosons. Spectroscopic results obtained from this study will facilitate the development of more efficient isotope separation techniques, enable narrowband laser cooling of Gd for novel dipolar physics investigations, and foster technological advances in high precision atomic clocks and quantum enhanced metrology.
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Single-colour resonant multiphoton ionization transitions of atomic gadolinium have been investigated by resonance ionization mass spectrometry. A total of 72 transitions have been found in the wavelength range of 530 - 635 nm. The wavelengths, relative intensities, linewidths and isotope shifts have been obtained for most of these transitions. In addition, the initial state for each transition has also been assigned employing the multicolour pump - probe technique. From the analysis of these transitions, it is found that most of the observed transitions arise from the three-photon process via the resonant first or second state and their isotope shifts correspond well with those of the resonant states. Based on these results, we have proposed new high-lying states and have determined isotope shifts of several excited states.
We observe the electric-dipole forbidden $7s\ensuremath{\rightarrow}8s$ transition in the francium isotopes $^{208\ensuremath{-}211}\mathrm{Fr}$ and 213Fr^{213}\mathrm{Fr}213Fr using a two-photon excitation scheme. We collect the atoms online from an accelerator and confine them in a magneto-optical trap for the measurements. In combination with previous measurements of the $7s\ensuremath{\rightarrow}7{p}_{1/2}$ transition we perform a King plot analysis. We compare the thus-determined ratio of the field shift constants (1.228 $\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}$ 0.019) to results obtained from new ab initio calculations (1.234 $\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}$ 0.010).
The open inner-shell electronic structure of lanthanides with large magnetic moments gives rise to a rich spectrum of transitions available for laser cooling, trapping, and coherent control. Despite this, the large number of ultraviolet (UV) transitions below 400nm have so far been rarely utilized in dipolar atom experiments. Here, we investigate multiple UV ground state transitions in dysprosium. Several of these UV excited states have the largest decay strengths to the ultralong-lived, low-lying first excited state which are comparable to the most commonly used strongest transitions found in dipolar atoms. Using two-dimensional shelving spectroscopy which improves detection sensitivity and provides a straightforward way to determine the hyperfine-isotope structure and excited state total angular momentum JJJ, we measure isotope shifts, hyperfine coefficients, and create King plots to determine their electronic nature. Such knowledge of these UV transitions which analogously exist in other magnetic atoms is important for optically populating the first excited state and can be used towards creating an optical clock, high resolution imaging in quantum gas microscopy, and probing lanthanide nuclei with enhanced Schiff moments in search of physics beyond the standard model.
We present measurements of the hyperfine coefficients and isotope shifts of the Dy I 683.731 nm transition, using saturated absorption spectroscopy on an atomic beam. A King Plot is drawn resulting in an updated value for the specific mass shift δν(684,sms)(164-162)=-534±17 MHz. Using fluorescence spectroscopy, we measure the excited state lifetime τ684=1.68(5) μs, yielding a linewidth of γ684=95±3 kHz. We give an upper limit to the branching ratio between the two decay channels from the excited state showing that this transition is usable for optical pumping into a dark state and demagnetization cooling.