Direct measurement of the fine-structure interval in alkali atoms using diode lasers
Atomic Physics
2007-05-23 v1
Abstract
We demonstrate a technique for directly measuring the fine-structure interval in alkali atoms using two frequency-stabilized diode lasers. Each laser has a linewidth of order 1 MHz and precise tunability: one laser is tuned to a hyperfine transition in the D_1 line, and the other laser to a hyperfine transition in the D_2 line. The outputs of the lasers are fed into a scanning Michelson interferometer that measures the ratio of their wavelengths accurately. To illustrate the technique, we measure the fine-structure interval in Rb, and obtain a value of 237.6000(3)(5) cm^-1 for the hyperfine-free 5P_{3/2} - 5P_{1/2} interval.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.physics/0204020,
title = {Direct measurement of the fine-structure interval in alkali atoms using diode lasers},
author = {Ayan Banerjee and Umakant D. Rapol and Vasant Natarajan},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:physics/0204020},
year = {2007}
}
Comments
3 pages, 2 figures, to be published in Applied Physics Letters, 20 May 2002 edition