We explore the prospects for confining alkaline-earth Rydberg atoms in an optical lattice via optical dressing of the secondary core valence electron. Focussing on the particular case of strontium, we identify experimentally accessible magic wavelengths for simultaneous trapping of ground and Rydberg states. A detailed analysis of relevant loss mechanisms shows that the overall lifetime of such a system is limited only by the spontaneous decay of the Rydberg state, and is not significantly affected by photoionization or autoionization. The van der Waals C_6 coefficients for the 5sns series are calculated, and we find that the interactions are attractive. Finally we show that the combination of magic-wavelength lattices and attractive interactions could be exploited to generate many-body Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) states.
New experimental quantum simulation platforms have recently been implemented with divalent atoms trapped in optical tweezer arrays with promising performance. The second valence electron also brings new propects through the so-called Isolated Core Excitation (ICE), however autoionization presents a strong limitation to this use. In this study, we propose and demonstrate a new approach to applying a sizable light shift to a Rydberg state with close-to-resonant ICE while avoiding auto-ionization. In particular, we have investigated ICE of ytterbium atoms in $^1S_0$ Rydberg states. Spectroscopic …
We develop an approach to generate finite-range atomic interactions via optical Rydberg-state excitation and study the underlying excitation dynamics in theory and experiment. In contrast to previous work, the proposed scheme is based on resonant optical driving and the establishment of a dark state under conditions of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). Analyzing the driven dissipative dynamics of the atomic gas, we show that the interplay between coherent light coupling, radiative decay and strong Rydberg-Rydberg atom interactions leads to the emergence of sizeable effective inte…
Apropos to the growing interest in the study of long-range interactions which for their applications in cold atom physics, we have performed theoretical calculation for the two-dipole $C_6$ and three-dipole $C_9$ dispersion coefficients involving alkaline-earth atoms with alkaline-earth atoms and alkaline-earth ions. The $C_6$ and $C_9$ coefficients are expressed in terms of the dynamic dipole polarizabilities, which are calculated using relativistic methods. Thereafter, the calculated $C_6$ coefficients for the considered alkaline-earth atoms among themselves are compared with the previously …
Neutral atom qubits with Rydberg-mediated interactions are a leading platform for developing large-scale coherent quantum systems. In the majority of experiments to date, the Rydberg states are not trapped by the same potential that confines ground state atoms, resulting in atom loss and constraints on the achievable interaction time. In this work, we demonstrate that the Rydberg states of an alkaline earth atom, ytterbium, can be stably trapped by the same red-detuned optical tweezer that also confines the ground state, by leveraging the polarizability of the Yb$^+$ ion core. Using the previo…
Scalable, local control over gate operations is an outstanding challenge in the field of quantum computing and programmable quantum simulation with Rydberg atom arrays. One approach is to use a global field to excite atoms to the Rydberg state, and tune individual atoms in and out of resonance via local light shifts. In this work, we point out that photon scattering errors from light shifts can be significantly reduced if the light shift is applied to the Rydberg state instead of the ground state, which can be realized in Rydberg states of alkaline earth atoms using optical transitions in the …
Precision probing of ionic-core transitions in alkaline-earth Rydberg atoms
Graduate School of Engineering Science, The University of Osaka（大阪大学工学研究科）；Center for Quantum Information and Quantum Biology, The University of Osaka（大阪大学量子信息与量子生物学中心）
Rydberg atoms are ideal tools for quantum technologies. Due to their large size, their dipole-dipole interaction at micrometer-scale distances and their coupling to external fields are huge. Recent experiments vividly exhibit their interest for quantum simulation, in spite of limitations due to the relatively short lifetime of optically-accessible Rydberg levels. These limitations motivate a renewed interest for the long-lived circular Rydberg states . However, detecting them is so far either destructive or complex. Moreover, alkali circular states can be manipulated only by microwave fields, …
Trapped neutral atoms have become a prominent platform for quantum science, where entanglement fidelity records have been set using highly-excited Rydberg states. However, controlled two-qubit entanglement generation has so far been limited to alkali species, leaving the exploitation of more complex electronic structures as an open frontier that could lead to improved fidelities and fundamentally different applications such as quantum-enhanced optical clocks. Here we demonstrate a novel approach utilizing the two-valence electron structure of individual alkaline-earth Rydberg atoms. We find fi…
Anomalously enhanced lifetimes of low angular momentum Rydberg states in singly charged alkaline-earth metal ions
Institut für Theoretische Physik and Center for Integrated Quantum Science and Technology, Universität Tübingen（蒂宾根大学理论物理研究所与集成量子科学与技术中心）；School of Physics and Astronomy and Centre for the Mathematics and Theoretical Physics of Quantum Non-Equilibrium Systems, The University of Nottingham（诺丁汉大学物理与天文学学院及量子非平衡系统数学与理论物理中心）
The theory is developed for one and two atom interactions when the atom has a Rydberg electron attached to a hyperfine split core state. This situation is relevant for some of the rare earth and alkaline earth atoms that have been proposed for experiments on Rydberg-Rydberg interactions. For the rare earth atoms, the core electrons can have a very substantial total angular momentum, $J$, and a non-zero nuclear spin, $I$. In the alkaline earth atoms there is a single, $s$, core electron whose spin can couple to a non-zero nuclear spin for odd isotopes. The resulting hyperfine splitting of the c…
Dispersion coefficients between the alkali metal atoms (Li-Rb) and alkaline-earth metal atoms (Be-Sr) are evaluated using matrix elements computed from frozen core configuration interaction calculations. Besides dispersion coefficients with both atoms in their respective ground states, dispersion coefficients are also given for the case where one atom is in its ground state and the other atom is in a low lying excited state.
The electric dipole polarizabilities evaluated at imaginary frequencies for hydrogen, the alkali-metal atoms, the alkaline earth atoms, and the inert gases are tabulated along with the resulting values of the atomic static polarizabilities, the atom-surface interaction constants, and the dispersion (or van der Waals) constants for the homonuclear and the heteronuclear diatomic combinations of the atoms.
Relativistic many-body calculations of van der Waals coefficients C_6 for dimers correlating to two ground state alkaline-earth atoms at large internuclear separations are reported. The following values and uncertainties were determined : C_6 = 214(3) for Be, 627(12) for Mg, 2221(15) for Ca, 3170(196) for Sr, and 5160(74) for Ba in atomic units.
We have reported the results of ab initio calculations of parity- and time- reversal -odd interaction constants for the ground state of alkaline-earth monofluorides. The Kramers-restricted configuration interaction method limited to single and double excitations in conjunction with the quadruple zeta quality basis sets have been employed to perform these 4-component relativistic calculations. The results are compared with the existing semi-empirical and other theoretical results, wherever available.
The static and dynamic properties of the alkaline-earth atoms in their metastable state are computed in a configuration interaction approach with a semi-empirical model potential for the core. Among the properties determined are the scalar and tensor polarizabilities, the quadrupole moment, some of the oscillator strengths and the dispersion coefficients of the van der Waals interaction. A simple method for including the effect of the core on the dispersion parameters is described.
Narrow s-wave features with subthermal widths are predicted for the ^1Pi_g photoassociation spectra of cold alkaline earth atoms. The phenomenon is explained by numerical and analytical calculations. These show that only a small subthermal range of collision energies near threshold contributes to the s-wave features that are excited when the atoms are very far apart. The resonances survive thermal averaging, and may be detectable for Ca cooled near the Doppler cooling temperature of the 4^1P <- 4^1S laser cooling transition.
The ground-state permanent dipole moments (PDMs) and molecular dipole polarizabilities (DPs) of open-shell alkaline-earth monofluorides, and atomic DPs of alkaline-earth- and fluorine atoms are reported at the Kramers-restricted configuration interaction level of theory limited to single- and double excitations (KRCISD), using the finite-field approach. Sufficiently large basis sets such as quadruple-zeta (QZ) and augmented-QZ basis sets together with the generalized active space technique is employed to carry out the field dependent energy calculations at the KRCISD level. The PDMs and the co…
Derivations for the higher tensor components of the quadrupole polarizabilities are given and their values for the metastable states of the Ca$^+$, Sr$^+$ and Ba$^+$ alkaline earth-metal ions are estimated. We also give the scalar quadrupole polarizabilities of the ground and metastable states of these ions to compare our results with the previously available theoretical and experimental results. Reasonably good agreement between our calculations with the previous values of scalar quadrupole polarizabilities demonstrate their correctness. The reported scalar and tensor quadrupole polarizabilit…
The interplay of the relativistic and correlation effects in the permanent electric dipole moments (PDMs) of the X2Σ+ (ν = 0) electronic ground states of the alkaline earth monoflourides (BeF, MgF, CaF, SrF and BaF) has been studied using a relativistic coupled cluster method (RCCM). The calculations were carried out using double, triple and quadruple zeta basis sets, and with no core orbitals frozen. The results are compared with those of other calculations available in the literature and with experiments. The correlation trends in the PDMs of these molecules are discussed in detail.
Ultracold molecules with both electron spin and an electric dipole moment offer new possibilities in quantum science. We use density-functional theory to calculate hyperfine coupling constants for a selection of molecules important in this area, including RbSr, LiYb, RbYb, CaF and SrF. We find substantial hyperfine coupling constants for the fermionic isotopes of the alkaline-earth and Yb atoms. We discuss the hyperfine level patterns and Zeeman splittings expected for these molecules. The results will be important both to experiments aimed at forming ultracold open-shell molecules and to thei…
The first three electronically excited states in the alkaline-earth-metal atoms magnesium, calcium, and strontium comprise the (nsnp) triplet P^o_J (J=0,1,2) fine-structure manifold. All three states are metastable and are of interest for optical atomic clocks as well as for cold-collision physics. An efficient technique--based on a physically motivated potential that models the presence of the ionic core--is employed to solve the Schroedinger equation for the two-electron valence shell. In this way, radiative lifetimes, laser-induced clock shifts, and long-range interaction parameters are cal…
It is possible to tune the scattering length for the collision of ultra-cold 1S0 ground state alkaline-earth atoms using an optical Feshbach resonance. This is achieved with a laser far detuned from an excited molecular level near the frequency of the atomic intercombination 1S0--3P1 transition. Simple resonant scattering theory, illustrated by the example of 40Ca, allows an estimate of the magnitude of the effect. Unlike alkali metal species, large changes of the scattering length are possible while atom loss remains small, because of the very narrow line width of the molecular photoassociati…
In continuation to our earlier reported data on the electric dipole (E1) matrix elements and lifetimes of the metastable states of the alkaline earth ions in [Atomic Data and Nuc. Data Tables {\bf 137} (2021) 101381], we present here the tune-out and magic wavelengths of the Mg$^+$, Ca$^+$, Sr$^+$ and Ba$^+$ alkaline earth-metal ions by determining dynamic E1 polarizabilities. Furthermore, we have evaluated the electric quadrupole (E2) matrix elements of a large number of forbidden transitions using an all-order relativistic many-body method and compare them with the previously reported values…
The lowest 3 tune-out wavelengths of the four alkaline-earth atoms, Be, Mg, Ca and Sr are determined from tabulations of matrix elements produced from large first principles calculations. The tune-out wavelengths are located near the wavelengths for $^3P^o_1$ and $^1P^o_1$ excitations. The measurement of the tune-out wavelengths could be used to establish a quantitative relationship between the oscillator strength of the transition leading to existence of the tune-out wavelength and the dynamic polarizability of the atom at the tune-out frequency. The longest tune-out wavelengths for Be, Mg, C…
Alkaline-earth atoms in their lowest triplet P_2 state are exceptionally long-lived and can be trapped magnetically. The nonspherical atomic structure leads to anisotropic long-range interactions between two metastable alkaline-earth atoms. The anisotropy affects the rotational motion of the diatomic system and couples states of different rotational quantum numbers. We develop a tensorial decomposition of the most important long-range interaction operators, and a systematic inclusion of molecular rotations, in the presence of an external magnetic field. The consequences are illustrated by appl…
We introduce four new molecules -- YbRb, YbCs, YbSr$^+$, and YbBa$^+$ -- that may prove fruitful in experimental searches for the electric dipole moment (EDM) of the electron. These molecules can, in principle, be prepared at extremely low temperatures by photoassociating ultracold atoms, and therefore may present an advantage over molecular beam experiments. Here we discuss properties of these molecules and assess the effective electric fields they contribute to an electron EDM measurement.
Ultra-cold collisions of spin-polarized 24Mg,40Ca, and 88Sr in the metastable 3P2 excited state are investigated. We calculate the long-range interaction potentials and estimate the scattering length and the collisional loss rate as a function of magnetic field. The estimates are based on molecular potentials between 3P2 alkaline-earth atoms obtained from ab initio atomic and molecular structure calculations. The scattering lengths show resonance behavior due to the appearance of a molecular bound state in a purely long-range interaction potential and are positive for magnetic fields below 50 …
We report the dispersion coefficients for the interacting inert gas atoms with the alkali ions, alkaline earth ions and alkali atoms with their singly charged ions. We use our relativistic coupled-cluster method to determine dynamic dipole and quadrupole polarizabilities of the alkali atoms and singly ionized alkaline earth atoms, whereas a relativistic random phase approximation approach has been adopted to evaluate these quantities for the closed-shell configured inert gas atoms and the singly and doubly ionized alkali and alkaline earth atoms, respectively. Accuracies of these results are a…
We investigate the possibility of observing a magneto-transverse scattering of photons from alkaline-earth-like atoms as well as alkali-like ions and provide orders of magnitude. The transverse magneto-scattering is physically induced by the interference between two possible quantum transitions of an outer electron in a S-state, one dispersive electric-dipole transition to a P-orbital state and a second resonant electric-quadrupole transition to a P-orbital state. In contrast with previous mechanisms proposed for such an atomic photonic Hall effect, no real photons are scattered by the electri…
Motivated by a recent experiment by Zelevinsky et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 203201], we present the theory for photoassociation and optical Feshbach resonances of atoms confined in a tight one-dimensional (1D) or two-dimensional (2D) optical lattice. In the case of an alkaline-earth intercombination resonance, the narrow natural width of the line makes it possible to observe clear manifestations of the dimensionality, as well as some sensitivity to the scattering length of the atoms. Among possible applications, a 2D lattice may be used to increase the spectroscopic resolution by about one ord…
Using perturbed relativistic coupled-cluster (PRCC) theory we compute the ground state electric dipole polarizability, $α$, of doubly ionized alkaline earth metal ions $\rm{Mg}^{2+}$, $\rm{Ca}^{2+}$, $\rm{Sr}^{2+}$, $\rm{Ba}^{2+}$ and $\rm{Ra}^{2+}$. In the present work we use the Dirac-Coulomb-Breit atomic Hamiltonian and we also include the Uehling potential, which is the leading order term in the vacuum polarization corrections. We examine the correction to the orbital energies arising from the Uehling potential in the self-consistent field calculations as well as perturbatively. Our result…
The circular polarized laser beam of the ``magic'' wavelength may be used for mixing the $^3P_1$ state into the long-living metastable state $^3P_0$, thus enabling the strictly forbidden $^1S_0$$-$$^3P_0$ ''clock'' transition in even isotopes of alkaline-earth-like atoms, without change of the transition frequency. In odd isotopes the laser beam may adjust to an optimum value the line width of the "clock" transition, originally enabled by the hyperfine mixing. We present a detailed analysis of various factors influencing resolution and uncertainty for an optical frequency standard based on ato…
We present magic wavelengths for the $nS$ - $nP_{1/2,3/2}$ and $nS$ - $mD_{3/2,5/2}$ transitions, with the respective ground and first excited $D$ states principal quantum numbers $n$ and $m$, in the Mg$^+$, Ca$^+$, Sr$^+$ and Ba$^+$ alkaline earth ions for linearly polarized lights by plotting dynamic polarizatbilities of the $nS$, $nP_{1/2,3/2}$ and $mD_{3/2,5/2}$ states of the ions. These dynamic polarizabilities are evaluated by employing a relativistic all-order perturbative method and their accuracies are ratified by comparing their static values with the available high precision experim…
The PairInteraction Toolkit for Modeling Rydberg Physics in Alkali and Alkaline-Earth-Like Atoms
University of Stuttgart（斯图加特大学）；Atom Computing, Inc.（Atom Computing公司）；Universität Tübingen（蒂宾根大学）；University of Bonn（波恩大学）；Universität Heidelberg（海德堡大学）；Max Planck Computing and Data Facility（马克斯·普朗克计算与数据中心）
Accurate knowledge of interaction potentials among the alkali atoms and alkaline earth ions is very useful in the studies of cold atom physics. Here we carry out theoretical studies of the long-range interactions among the Li, Na, K, and Rb alkali atoms with the Ca$^+$, Ba$^+$, Sr$^+$, and Ra$^+$ alkaline earth ions systematically which are largely motivated by their importance in a number of applications. These interactions are expressed as a power series in the inverse of the internuclear separation $R$. Both the dispersion and induction components of these interactions are determined accura…
Largely motivated by a number of applications, the van der Waals dispersion coefficients ($C_3$s) of the alkali ions (Li$^+$, Na$^+$, K$^+$ and Rb$^+$), the alkaline-earth ions (Ca$^+$, Sr$^+$, Ba$^+$ and Ra$^+$) and the inert gas atoms (He, Ne, Ar and Kr) with a graphene layer are determined precisely within the framework of Dirac model. For these calculations, we have evaluated the dynamic polarizabilities of the above atomic systems very accurately by evaluating the transition matrix elements employing relativistic many-body methods and using the experimental values of the excitation energi…
Metastability and long-range interactions of Mg, Ca, and Sr in the lowest-energy metastable $^3P_2$ state are investigated. The calculated lifetimes are 38 minutes for Mg*, 118 minutes for Ca*, and 17 minutes for Sr*, supporting feasibility of cooling and trapping experiments. The quadrupole-quadrupole long-range interactions of two metastable atoms are evaluated for various molecular symmetries. Hund's case (c) 4_g potential possesses a large 100-1000 K potential barrier. Therefore magnetic trap losses can possibly be reduced using cold metastable atoms in a stretched M=2 state. Calculations …
Executing quantum algorithms on error-corrected logical qubits is a critical step for scalable quantum computing, but the requisite numbers of qubits and physical error rates are demanding for current experimental hardware. Recently, the development of error correcting codes tailored to particular physical noise models has helped relax these requirements. In this work, we propose a qubit encoding and gate protocol for ${}^{171}$Yb neutral atom qubits that converts the dominant physical errors into erasures, that is, errors in known locations. The key idea is to encode qubits in a metastable el…
We calculate the light-induced collisional loss of laser-cooled and trapped magnesium atoms for detunings up to 50 atomic linewidths to the red of the ^1S_0-^1P_1 cooling transition. We evaluate loss rate coefficients due to both radiative and nonradiative state-changing mechanisms for temperatures at and below the Doppler cooling temperature. We solve the Schrodinger equation with a complex potential to represent spontaneous decay, but also give analytic models for various limits. Vibrational structure due to molecular photoassociation is present in the trap loss spectrum. Relatively broad st…
The perturbed relativistic coupled-cluster (PRCC) theory is applied to calculate the electric dipole polarizabilities of alkaline Earth metal atoms. The Dirac-Coulomb-Breit atomic Hamiltonian is used and we include the triple excitations in the relativistic coupled-cluster (RCC) theory. The theoretical issues related to the triple excitation cluster operators are described in detail and we also provide details on the computational implementation. The PRCC theory results are in good agreement with the experimental and previous theoretical results. We, then, highlight the importance of consideri…
We have achieved Bose-Einstein condensation of $^{40}$Ca, the first for an alkaline earth element. The influence of elastic and inelastic collisions associated with the large ground state s-wave scattering length of $^{40}$Ca was measured. From these findings, an optimized loading and cooling scheme was developed that allowed us to condense about $2 \cdot 10^4$ atoms after laser cooling in a two-stage magneto-optical trap and subsequent forced evaporation in a crossed dipole trap within less than 3 s. The condensation of an alkaline earth element opens novel opportunities for precision measure…
An ultra-stable optical clock based on coherent population trapping effect of alkaline-earth ions, such as Ca$^+$, Sr$^+$, Ba$^+$, is analyzed here. The proposed transitions use the odd isotopes, so that the frequency shift is insensitive to the applied magnetic field. To enhance the signal, a large number of ions are trapped in a linear Paul trap, and laser cooled to crystallize such that the ions are in the Lamb-Dicke regime to avoid first order Doppler shift. Other relevant frequency shifts are also analyzed. Further techniques to improve the stability of the clock signal are discussed.
A new possibility of laser cooling of alkaline-earth-metal and Ytterbium atoms using a two-photon transition is analyzed. We consider a $^{1}S_{0}$ - $^{1}S_{0}$ transition, with excitation in near resonance with the $^{1}P_{1}$ level. This greatly increases the two-photon transition rate, allowing an effective transfer of momentum. The experimental implementation of this technique is discussed and we show that for Calcium, for example, two-photon cooling can be used to achieve a Doppler limit of 123 microKelvin. The efficiency of this cooling scheme and the main loss mechanisms are analyzed.
We demonstrate a compact magneto-optical trap (MOT) of alkaline-earth atoms using a nanofabricated diffraction grating chip. A single input laser beam, resonant with the broad $^1$S$_0\,\rightarrow \,^1$P$_1$ transition of strontium, forms the MOT in combination with three diffracted beams from the grating chip and a magnetic field produced by permanent magnets. A differential pumping tube limits the effect of the heated, effusive source on the background pressure in the trapping region. The system has a total volume of around 2.4 L. With our setup, we have trapped up to $5 \times 10^6$ $^{88}…
We present a general approach within the relativistic coupled-cluster theory framework to calculate exactly the first order wave functions due to any rank perturbation operators. Using this method, we calculate the static dipole and quadrupole polarizabilities in some alkali atoms and alkaline earth-metal ions. This may be a good test of the present theory for different rank and parity interaction operators. This shows a wide range of applications including precise calculations of both parity and CP violating amplitudes due to rank zero and rank one weak interaction Hamiltonians. We also give …
We theoretically investigate zero-temperature magnetic ordering of mixtures of spin-1 (alkali atoms) and spin-0 (alkaline-earth atoms) bosons in a three-dimensional optical lattice. With the single-mode approximation for the spin-1 bosons, we obtain an effective Bose-Hubbard model for describing the heteronuclear mixtures in optical lattices. By controlling the interspecies interactions between alkali and alkaline-earth atoms, we map out complete phase diagrams of the system with both positive and negative spin-dependent interactions for spin-1 atoms, based on bosonic dynamical mean-field theo…
Dipole-phonon quantum logic (DPQL) leverages the interaction between polar molecular ions and the motional modes of a trapped-ion Coulomb crystal to provide a potentially scalable route to quantum information science. Here, we study a class of candidate molecular ions for DPQL, the cationic alkaline-earth monoxides and monosulfides, which possess suitable structure for DPQL and can be produced in existing atomic ion experiments with little additional complexity. We present calculations of DPQL operations for one of these molecules, CaO$^+$, and discuss progress towards experimental realization…
The low-lying n(=3,4,5)d $^2D_{5/2}$ states alkaline earth ions are of vital importance in a number of different physical applications. The hyperfine structure constants of these states are characterized by unusually strong electron correlation effects. Relativistic coupled-cluster theory has been employed to carry out {\it ab initio} calculations of these constants. The role of the all order core-polarization effects was found to be decisive in obtaining good agreement of the results of our calculations with accurate measurements. The present work is an apt demonstration of the power of the c…
The properties of photoassociation (PA) spectra near the intercombination line (the weak transition between $^{1}S_{0}$ and $^{3}P_{1}$ states) of group II atoms are theoretically investigated. As an example we have carried out a calculation for Calcium atoms colliding at ultra low temperatures of 1 mK, 1 $μ$K, and 1 nK. Unlike in most current photoassociation spectroscopy the Doppler effect can significantly affect the shape of the investigated lines. Spectra are obtained using Ca--Ca and Ca--Ca$^*$ short-range {\it ab initio} potentials and long-range van der Waals and resonance dipole poten…
Magnetic-field control of interactions in alkaline-earth Rydberg atoms and applications to {\it XXZ} models
Tokyo University of Science（东京科学大学）；Institute for Molecular Science, National Institutes of Natural Sciences（国立自然科学研究所分子科学研究所）；SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies)（综合研究大学院大学）
Alkaline-earth-like transition-metal atoms such as Zn and Cd are promising candidates for precision measurements and quantum many-body physics experiments. Here, we theoretically investigate the properties of diatomic molecules containing these closed-shell atoms. We calculate potential energy curves, permanent electric dipole moments, and spectroscopic constants for molecules consisting of either a Zn or Cd atom interacting with an alkali-metal (Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs, Fr) or alkaline-earth-metal (Be, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Ra) atom. We use the ab initio electronic structure coupled cluster method with s…
The Z-vector method in the relativistic coupled-cluster framework is used to calculate magnetic hyperfine structure constant ($A_J$) of alkali metals and singly charged alkaline earth metals in their ground state electronic configuration. The Z-vector results are in very good agreement with the experiment. The $A_J$ values of Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs, Be$^{+}$, Mg$^{+}$, Ca$^{+}$, and Sr$^{+}$ obtained in the Z-vector method are compared with the extended coupled-cluster results taken from Phys. Rev. A 91, 022512 (2015). The same basis and cutoff are used for the comparison purpose. The comparison sh…
We present a method for creating a quantum degenerate gas of metastable alkaline-earth atoms. This has yet to be achieved due to inelastic collisions that limit evaporative cooling in the metastable states. Quantum degenerate samples prepared in the $^{1}S_{0}$ ground state can be rapidly transferred to either the $^{3}P_{2}$ or $^{3}P_{0}$ state via a coherent 3-photon process. Numerical integration of the density matrix evolution for the fine structure of bosonic alkaline-earth atoms shows that transfer efficiencies of $\simeq90\%$ can be achieved with experimentally feasible laser parameter…
