Related papers: Improved limits for violations of local position i…
The passage of time is tracked by counting oscillations of a frequency reference, such as Earth's revolutions or swings of a pendulum. By referencing atomic transitions, frequency (and thus time) can be measured more precisely than any…
We have studied collisional perturbations of radio-frequency (rf) electric-dipole (E1) transitions between the nearly degenerate opposite-parity levels in atomic dysprosium (Dy) in the presence of 10 to 80 $\mu$Torr of H$_\text{2}$,…
We report the first driving of the $7s\ ^2S_{1/2}\rightarrow 6d\ ^2D_{3/2}$ and $7s\ ^2S_{1/2}\rightarrow 6d\ ^2D_{5/2}$ electric quadrupole (E2) transitions in Ra$^{+}$. We measure the frequencies of both E2 transitions, and two other…
High accuracy measurements in M\"ossbauer transitions open up the possibility to use them in the search for temporal and spatial variation of the fine-structure constant $\alpha$, quark mass $m_q$, and dark matter field which may lead to…
We use advanced computational techniques to study the electronic structure of the Hf$^{12+}$ ion, with the goal of assessing its potential for use in highly accurate atomic optical clocks and search for new physics. Such clocks should…
We report on the first coherent excitation of the highly forbidden $^2S_{1/2}\rightarrow{}^2F_{7/2}$ electric octupole (E3) transition in a single trapped ${}^{172}$Yb$^+$ ion, an isotope without nuclear spin. Using the transition in…
Numerous accidental near-degeneracies exist between the $2\nu_2$ and $\nu_4$ rotation-vibration energy levels of ammonia. Transitions between these two states possess significantly enhanced sensitivity to a possible variation of the…
Sensitivity to temporal variation of the fundamental constants may be strongly enhanced in transitions between narrow close levels of different nature. This enhancement may be realized in a large number of molecules due to cancelation…
We report a precise measurement of the isotope shifts in the $4^2$S$_{1/2} \rightarrow 3^2$D$_{5/2}$ electric quadrupole transition at 729~nm in the $^{40 - 42,44,48}$Ca$^+$. The measurement has been made via high-resolution laser…
We demonstrate that several metastable excited states in Hf$~$II, Hf$~$IV and W$~$VI ions may be good clock states since they are sufficiently long-living and are not sensitive to the perturbations. Cooling E1 transitions are available.…
We have constructed an optical clock with a fractional frequency inaccuracy of 8.6e-18, based on quantum logic spectroscopy of an Al+ ion. A simultaneously trapped Mg+ ion serves to sympathetically laser-cool the Al+ ion and detect its…
We study the $^1$S$_0 - ^3$D$_2$ and $^1$S$_0 - ^3$D$_3$ transitions in Cu II and the $^1$S$_0 - ^3$P$^{\rm o}_2$ transition in Yb III as possible candidates for the optical clock transitions. A recently developed version of the…
Review of recent works devoted to the variation of the fundamental constants is presented including atomic clocks, quasar absorption spectra, and Oklo natural nuclear reactor data. Assuming linear variation with time we can compare…
The systematic shifts of the transition frequencies in the molecular hydrogen ions are of relevance to ultra-high-resolution radio-frequency, microwave and optical spectroscopy of these systems, performed in ion traps. We develop the…
Searching for an accurate optical clock which can serve as a better time standard than the present day atomic clock is highly demanding from several areas of science and technology. Several attempts have been made to built more accurate…
The ^{207}Pb^{19}F molecule possesses a pair of closely spaced levels of opposite parity due to near cancelation of the omega-type doubling and magnetic hyperfine interaction energy shifts [Alphei et al., Phys. Rev. A, 83, 040501 (2011)].…
The frequency ratio of the 1S0(F=1/2)-3P0(F=1/2) clock transition in 171Yb and the 1S0(F=9/2)-3P0(F=9/2) clock transition in 87Sr is measured by an optical-optical direct frequency link between two optical lattice clocks. We determined the…
The possibility of using neutral and double ionized erbium for atomic clocks of high precision is investigated. In both cases the narrow electric quadrupole clock transition between the ground and first exited state of the same…
Many physical theories beyond the Standard Model predict time variations of basic physics parameters. Direct measurement of the time variations of these parameters is very difficult or impossible to achieve. By contrast, measurements of…
We report on spectroscopy of the low-lying electronic transitions in $^{224}$Ra$^+$. The ion's low charge to mass ratio and convenient wavelengths make $^{224}$Ra$^+$ a promising optical clock candidate. We measured the frequencies of the…