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Physical Review A

Kilohertz-resolution spectroscopy of the 2S1/2−2F7/2 electric octupole transition in a single 171Yb+ ion

Stephen A. Webster, Philip H. Taylor, M. Roberts, G. P. Barwood, Patrick Robert Gill

Published Apr 15, 2002• 33 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Spectroscopy has been performed on $\mathrm{the}{}^{2}{S}_{1/2}(F=0,{m}_{F}{=0)\ensuremath{-}}^{2}{F}_{7/2}{(F=3,m}_{F}=0)$ electric octupole transition in ${}^{171}{\mathrm{Yb}}^{+}$ with kilohertz resolution. A quantum jump rate of more than one per second has been achieved, a factor of 100 improvement on previous work. Spectra including the sidebands at the trap secular frequency show the ion to be in the Lambe-Dicke regime and hence the Doppler effect has been eliminated to first order. The dynamic Stark shift is a significant perturbation to the frequency because of the high intensity required to drive the octupole transition. It has been measured as ${42}_{\ensuremath{-}10}^{+12} \ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{Hz}{\mathrm{W}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}{\mathrm{m}}^{2}$ and with further reduction in the probe laser linewidth, it should be possible to reduce the relative uncertainty in this shift to the parts in ${10}^{18}$ level. The transition is free from the Zeeman effect to first order and has a measured second-order shift of $1.9(3) \mathrm{mHz}(\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{T}{)}^{\ensuremath{-}2}.$ It should be possible to reduce the relative uncertainty in this shift to below the part in ${10}^{18}$ level. The electric quadrupole shift may be the limiting systematic effect, but cannot yet be observed with the current resolution on the transition.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.65.052501

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Spectroscopy has been performed on the2S1/2(F=0,mF=0)\ensuremath−2F7/2(F=3,mF=0)\mathrm{the}{}^{2}{S}_{1/2}(F=0,{m}_{F}{=0)\ensuremath{-}}^{2}{F}_{7/2}{(F=3,m}_{F}=0)the2S1/2​(F=0,mF​=0)\ensuremath−2F7/2​(F=3,mF​=0) electric octupole transition in 171Yb+{}^{171}{\mathrm{Yb}}^{+}171Yb+ with kilohertz resolution. A quantum jump rate of more than one per second has been achieved, a factor of 100 improvement on previous work. Spectra including the sidebands at the trap secular frequency show the ion to be in the Lambe-Dicke regime and hence the Doppler effect has been eliminated to first order. The dynamic Stark shift is a significant perturbation to the frequency because of the high intensity required to drive the octupole transition. It has been measured as 42\ensuremath−10+12\ensuremathμHzW\ensuremath−1m2{42}_{\ensuremath{-}10}^{+12} \ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{Hz}{\mathrm{W}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}{\mathrm{m}}^{2}42\ensuremath−10+12​\ensuremathμHzW\ensuremath−1m2 and with further reduction in the probe laser linewidth, it should be possible to reduce the relative uncertainty in this shift to the parts in 1018{10}^{18}1018 level. The transition is free from the Zeeman effect to first order and has a measured second-order shift of 1.9(3)mHz(\ensuremathμT)\ensuremath−2.1.9(3) \mathrm{mHz}(\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{T}{)}^{\ensuremath{-}2}.1.9(3)mHz(\ensuremathμT)\ensuremath−2. It should be possible to reduce the relative uncertainty in this shift to below the part in 1018{10}^{18}1018 level. The electric quadrupole shift may be the limiting systematic effect, but cannot yet be observed with the current resolution on the transition.
The 2S1/2(F=0)2F7/2(F=3,mF=0){}^{2}{S}_{1/2}{(F=0)}^{2}{F}_{7/2}{(F=3,m}_{F}=0)2S1/2​(F=0)2F7/2​(F=3,mF​=0) transition at 467 nm in a single trapped, laser-cooled ion of 171Yb+{}^{171}{\mathrm{Yb}}^{+}171Yb+ has been measured to be fYb+=642121496771.26(23)kHz{f}_{{\mathrm{Yb}}^{+}}=642121496771.26(23)\mathrm{kHz}fYb+​=642121496771.26(23)kHz using a femtosecond laser frequency comb generator. The measurement is limited by measurement statistics and by the ac Stark shift, both related to the 4.5 kHz linewidth of the probe laser at the time. The systematic shifts of the transition, including ac Stark, second-order Zeeman, quadrupole, and blackbody shifts, have been evaluated.
We experimentally demonstrate laser spectroscopy of the electric-quadrupole transition 6s2S1/2−−5d2D3/26s{}^{2}{S}_{1/2}--5d{}^{2}{D}_{3/2}6s2S1/2​−−5d2D3/2​ of a single trapped 171Yb{}^{171}\mathrm{Yb}171Yb ion. The probed transition has a natural linewidth of 3.1 Hz, and is at a wavelength of 435.5 nm. A 171Yb{}^{171}\mathrm{Yb}171Yb ion is laser cooled to the range of the Doppler limit in a radio-frequency Paul trap. The $F=0--{F}^{\ensuremath{'}}=2,$ ${m}_{{F}^{\ensuremath{'}}}=0$ hyperfine component of the 2S1/2−−2D3/2{}^{2}{S}_{1/2}{--}^{2}{D}_{3/2}2S1/2​−−2D3/2​ transition is excited by a laser source whose frequency is controlled by an optical reference cavity of high intrinsic stability. The recoilless carrier component of the vibrational sideband spectrum is resolved with a minimum linewidth of approximately 80 Hz, corresponding to a fractional frequency resolution of $1.2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}13}.$ This resolution limit is attributed to laser frequency instability. The effective decoherence rates of the residual ion motion are inferred from the observation that the axial and two radial low-frequency first-order secular-vibration sidebands show minimum linewidths in the range of 0.2--1 kHz. Prospects for an optical frequency standard based on the investigated atomic system are discussed.
We report on precision laser spectroscopy of the ${^{2}S}_{1/2}(F=0)\text{\ensuremath{-}}{^{2}F}_{7/2}(F=3,{m}_{F}=0)$ clock transition in a single ion of 171Yb+{^{171}\text{Y}\text{b}}^{+}171Yb+. A linewidth of <40 Hz<40\text{ }\text{Hz}<40 Hz is observed and frequency instability due to fluctuation of the ac Stark shift is reduced through improved stability of the beam alignment. The absolute value of the transition frequency, determined using an optical frequency comb, is $642\text{ }121\text{ }496\text{ }772\text{ }657\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}12\text{ }\text{Hz}$ with a fractional uncertainty of $2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}14}$. This is a factor of 50 better than the previously published value [Hosaka et al., IEEE Trans. Instrum. Meas. 54, 759 (2005)].
The ${}^{2}{S}_{1/2}{(F=0)\ensuremath{-}}^{2}{F}_{7/2}(F=3)$ electric octupole transition in 171Yb+{}^{171}{\mathrm{Yb}}^{+}171Yb+ has been detected by observing quantum jumps in the fluorescence of a single ion held in an electrodynamic trap. The transition frequency has been measured as 642 121 498.1 (0.8) MHz. The extreme weakness of this transition makes it ideally suited as an optical frequency reference of subhertz linewidth. The absolute frequencies of a series of Doppler-free absorptions in tellurium vapor are also reported. One of these absorptions was used as a local frequency reference while locating the electric octupole transition.
High-Resolution Spectroscopy of 173^{173}173Yb+^{+}+ Ions
Compared to other stable isotopes of Yb+\rm{Yb}^+Yb+, 173Yb+^{173}\rm{Yb}^+173Yb+ has a richer hyperfine structure, which leads to more favorable clock transitions, spectroscopic techniques for probing new physics, and more sophisticated quantum computing architectures. However, to date, its electronic spectrum remains poorly characterized. Here, we report on efficient laser cooling, state preparation, and detection of a single trapped 173Yb+^{173}\rm{Yb}^+173Yb+ ion. The previously unobserved 2 ⁣S1/2→2 ⁣D3/2^2\!S_{1/2} \rightarrow {}^2\!D_{3/2}2S1/2​→2D3/2​ electric quadrupole transition at 436 nm is coherently excited, and the isotope shift between 171Yb+^{171}\rm{Yb}^+171Yb+ and 173Yb+^{173}\rm{Yb}^+173Yb+ on this transition is determined with an uncertainty of 1.4 Hz. Using microwave spectroscopy, we resolve the hyperfine structure (HFS) of the 2 ⁣D3/2{}^2\!D_{3/2}2D3/2​ state with a relative uncertainty below 10−810^{-8}10−8. From the HFS measurement data, we infer for 173{}^{173}173Yb a nuclear magnetic octupole moment Ω=−0.062(8) (b×μN)Ω= -0.062(8)\,({\rm b} \times μ_N)Ω=−0.062(8)(b×μN​) with uncertainty reduced by more than 2 orders of magnitude compared to previous studies. The data also allow us to determine hyperfine anomalies for the 2 ⁣S1/2{}^2\!S_{1/2}2S1/2​ and 2 ⁣D3/2{}^2\!D_{3/2}2D3/2​ states.