Keywords

optical frequency comb, transition frequency

Abstract

We determine the frequency of the Yb I ¹S₀-¹P₁ transition at 399 nm using an optical frequency comb. Although this transition was measured previously using an optical transfer cavity [D. Das et al., Phys, Rev. A 72, 032506 (2005)], recent work has uncovered significant errors in that method. We compare our result of 751 526 533.49 ± 0.33 MHz for the ¹⁷⁴Yb isotope with those from the literature and discuss observed differences. We verify the correctness of our method by measuring the frequencies of well-known transitions in Rb and Cs, and by demonstrating proper control of systematic errors in both laser metrology and atomic spectroscopy. We also demonstrate the effect of quantum interference due to hyperfine structure in a divalent atomic system and present isotope shift measurements for all stable isotopes.

Original Publication Citation

Michaela Kleinert, M. E. Gold Dahl, and Scott Bergeson. Measurement of the Yb I 1S0-1P1 transition frequency at 399 nm using an optical frequency comb. Phys. Rev. A 94 (5), 052511 (2016).