Over a period of eight months, we have monitored transition frequencies between nearly degenerate, opposite-parity levels in two isotopes of atomic dysprosium (Dy). These transition frequencies are highly sensitive to temporal variation of the fine-structure constant ($α$) due to relativistic corrections of large and opposite sign for the opposite-parity levels. In this unique system, in contrast to atomic-clock comparisons, the difference of the electronic energies of the opposite-parity levels can be monitored directly utilizing a radio-frequency (rf) electric-dipole transition between them. Our measurements show that the frequency variation of the 3.1-MHz transition in $^{163}$Dy and the 235-MHz transition in $^{162}$Dy are 9.0$\pm$6.7 Hz/yr and -0.6$\pm$6.5 Hz/yr, respectively. These results provide a value for the rate of fractional variation of $α$ of $(-2.7\pm2.6)\times 10^{-15}$ yr$^{-1}$ (1 $σ$) without any assumptions on the constancy of other fundamental constants, indicating absence of significant variation at the present level of sensitivity.
A thermal atomic beam of dysprosium (Dy) atoms is cooled using the $4f^{10}6s^2 (J=8) \to 4f^{10}6s6p (J=9)$ transition at 421 nm. The cooling is done via a standing light wave orthogonal to the atomic beam. Efficient transverse cooling to the Doppler limit is demonstrated for all observable isotopes of dysprosium. Branching ratios to metastable states are demonstrated to be $<5\times10^{-4}$. A scheme for enhancement of the nonzero-nuclear-spin-isotope cooling, as well as a method for direct identification of possible trap states, is proposed.
Radio-frequency electric-dipole transitions between nearly degenerate, opposite parity levels of atomic dysprosium (Dy) were monitored over an eight-month period to search for a variation in the fine-structure constant, $α$. The data provide a rate of fractional temporal variation of $α$ of $(-2.4\pm2.3)\times10^{-15}$ yr$^{-1}$ or a value of $(-7.8 \pm 5.9) \times 10^{-6}$ for $k_α$, the variation coefficient for $α$ in a changing gravitational potential. All results indicate the absence of significant variation at the present level of sensitivity. We also present initial results on laser coo…
It has been proposed that the radio-frequency electric-dipole (E1) transition between two nearly degenerate opposite-parity states in atomic dysprosium should be highly sensitive to possible temporal variation of the fine structure constant ($α$) [V. A. Dzuba, V. V. Flambaum, and J. K. Webb, Phys. Rev. A {\bf 59}, 230 (1999)]. We analyze here an experimental realization of the proposed search in progress in our laboratory, which involves monitoring the E1 transition frequency over a period of time using direct frequency counting techniques. We estimate that a statistical sensitivity of $|\adot…
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 $μ$Torr of H$_\text{2}$, N$_\text{2}$, He, Ar, Ne, Kr, and Xe. Collisional broadening and shift of the resonance, as well as the attenuation of the signal amplitude are observed to be proportional to the foreign-gas density with the exception of H$_2$ and Ne, for which no shifts were observed. Corresponding rates and cross sections are presented. In addition, rates and cross sections for O$_…
We report on the spectroscopy of radio-frequency transitions between nearly-degenerate, opposite-parity excited states in atomic dysprosium (Dy). Theoretical calculations predict that these states are very sensitive to variation of the fine-structure constant, $α$, owing to large relativistic corrections of opposite sign for the opposite-parity levels. The near degeneracy reduces the relative precision necessary to place constraints on variation of $α$ competitive with results obtained from the best atomic clocks in the world. Additionally, the existence of several abundant isotopes of Dy allo…
We propose using a Stark interference technique to directly measure the odd-parity c_{0j} components of the electron sector c_{μν} tensor of the Standard-Model Extension. This technique has been shown to be a sensitive probe of parity violation in atomic dysprosium in a low-energy, tabletop experiment, and may also be straightforwardly applied to test Lorentz invariance. We estimate that such an experiment may be sensitive to c_{0j} coefficients as small as 10^{-18}.
We report on spectroscopy of cold dysprosium atoms on the $1001\,\mathrm{nm}$ transition and present measurements of the excited state lifetime which is at least $87.2(6.7)\,\mathrm{ms}$ long. Due to the long excited state lifetime we are able to measure the ratio of the excited state polarizability to the ground state polarizability at $1064\,\mathrm{nm}$ to be $0.828(0.129)$ by parametric heating in an optical dipole trap. In addition we measure the isotope shifts of the three most abundant bosonic isotopes of dysprosium on the $1001\,\mathrm{nm}$ transition with an accuracy better than $30\…
The dysprosium parity violation experiment concluded nearly 17 years ago with an upper limit on weak interaction induced mixing of nearly degenerate, opposite parity states in atomic dysprosium. While that experiment was limited in sensitivity by statistics, a new apparatus constructed in the interim for radio-frequency spectroscopy is expected to provide significant improvements to the statistical sensitivity. Preliminary work from the new PV experiment in dysprosium is presented with a discussion of the current statistical sensitivity and outlook.
We present the first direct excitation of the presumably ultra-narrow $1001 \, \textrm{nm}$ ground state transition in atomic dysproium. By using resonance ionization spectroscopy with pulsed Ti:sapphire lasers at a hot cavity laser ion source, we were able to measure the isotopic shifts in the $1001 \, \textrm{nm}$ line between all seven stable isotopes. Furthermore, we determined the upper level energy from the atomic transition frequency of the $^{164} \textrm{Dy}$ isotope as $9991.004(1) \, \textrm{cm}^{-1}$ and confirm the level energy listed in the NIST database. Since a sufficiently nar…
In the domain of quantum degenerate atomic gases, much interest has been raised recently by the use of Lanthanide atoms with large magnetic moments, in particular Dysprosium and Erbium. These species have been successfully brought to quantum degeneracy and are now excellent candidates for quantum simulations of physical phenom- ena due to long-range interactions. In this short article, we report on the progresses in the construction of a new experiment on Bose-Einstein condensation of Dysprosium atoms. After completing the vacuum and the laser setups, a magneto-optical trap on the narrow 626nm…
We present our technique to create a magneto-optical trap for dysprosium atoms using the narrow-line cooling transition at 626$\,$nm to achieve suitable conditions for direct loading into an optical dipole trap. The magneto-optical trap is loaded from an atomic beam via a Zeeman slower using the strongest atomic transition at 421$\,$nm. With this combination of two cooling transitions we can trap up to $2.0\cdot10^8$ atoms at temperatures down to 6$\, μ$K. This cooling approach is simpler than present work with ultracold dysprosium and provides similar starting conditions for a transfer to an …
The laser cooling and trapping of ultracold neutral dysprosium has been recently demonstrated using the broad, open 421-nm cycling transition. Narrow-line magneto-optical trapping of Dy on longer wavelength transitions would enable the preparation of ultracold Dy samples suitable for loading optical dipole traps and subsequent evaporative cooling. We have identified the closed 741-nm cycling transition as a candidate for the narrow-line cooling of Dy. We present experimental data on the isotope shifts, the hyperfine constants A and B, and the decay rate of the 741-nm transition. In addition, w…
Hyperfine and Zeeman Optical Pumping and Transverse Laser Cooling of a Thermal Atomic Beam of Dysprosium Using a Single 421 nm Laser
Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz（约翰内斯·古腾堡美因茨大学）；Helmholtz-Institut Mainz, GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung（亥姆霍兹美因茨研究所，GSI重离子研究中心）；Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Tirupati（蒂鲁帕蒂印度理工学院物理系）；Korea National University of Education（韩国国立教育大学）；Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley（加州大学伯克利分校物理系）
The efficiency of optical trapping of ultracold atoms depend on the atomic dynamic dipole polarizability governing the atom-field interaction. In this article, we have calculated the real and imaginary parts of the dynamic dipole polarizability of dysprosium in the ground and first excited level. Due to the high electronic angular momentum of those two states, the polarizabilities possess scalar, vector and tensor contributions that we have computed, on a wide range of trapping wavelengths, using the sum-over-state formula. Using the same formalism, we have also calculated the $C_6$ coefficien…
We report a joint test of local Lorentz invariance and the Einstein equivalence principle for electrons, using long-term measurements of the transition frequency between two nearly degenerate states of atomic dysprosium. We present many-body calculations which demonstrate that the energy splitting of these states is particularly sensitive to violations of both special and general relativity. We limit Lorentz violation for electrons at the level of $10^{-17}$, matching or improving the best laboratory and astrophysical limits by up to a factor of 10, and improve bounds on gravitational redshift…
We present measurements of the hyperfine coefficients and isotope shifts of the Dy I $683.731 $nm transition, using saturated absorption spectroscopy on an atomic beam. A King Plot is drawn resulting in an updated value for the specific mass shift $δν_\mathrm{684,sms}^\mathrm{164-162}=-534 \pm 17 MHz$. Using fluorescence spectroscopy we measure the excited state lifetime $τ_{684}=1.68(5) μ$s, yielding a linewidth of $γ_\mathrm{684} = 95 \pm 3 kHz$. We give an upper limit to the branching ratio between the two decay channels from the excited state showing that this transition is useable for opt…
Radio-frequency E1 transitions between nearly degenerate, opposite parity levels of atomic dysprosium were monitored over an eight month period to search for a variation in the fine-structure constant. During this time period, data were taken at different points in the gravitational potential of the Sun. The data are fitted to the variation in the gravitational potential yielding a value of $(-8.7 \pm 6.6) \times 10^{-6}$ for the fit parameter $k_α$. This value gives the current best laboratory limit. In addition, our value of $k_α$ combined with other experimental constraints is used to extra…
In this article we study effects of parity nonconservation in atomic dysprosium, where one has a pair of nearly degenerate levels of opposite parity. We consider the time evolution of this two-level system within oscillatory electric and magnetic fields. These are chosen to have a periodical structure with the same period, such that a Floquet matrix describes the time evolution of the quantum states. We show that, if the states are unstable, the eigenvalues of the Floquet matrix may have contributions proportional to the square root of the parity violating interaction matrix element $H_w$ whil…
We report new limits on ultralight scalar dark matter (DM) with dilaton-like couplings to photons that can induce oscillations in the fine-structure constant alpha. Atomic dysprosium exhibits an electronic structure with two nearly degenerate levels whose energy splitting is sensitive to changes in alpha. Spectroscopy data for two isotopes of dysprosium over a two-year span is analyzed for coherent oscillations with angular frequencies below 1 rad/s. No signal consistent with a DM coupling is identified, leading to new constraints on dilaton-like photon couplings over a wide mass range. Under …
We characterize the anisotropic differential ac-Stark shift for the Dy $626$ nm intercombination transition, induced in a far-detuned $1070$ nm optical dipole trap, and observe the existence of a "magic polarization" for which the polarizabilities of the ground and excited states are equal. From our measurements we extract both the scalar and tensorial components of the dynamic dipole polarizability for the excited state, $α_E^\text{s} = 188 (12)\,α_\text{0}$ and $α_E^\text{t} = 34 (12)\,α_\text{0}$, respectively, where $α_\text{0}$ is the atomic unit for the electric polarizability. We also p…
A measurement of the hyperfine coefficients and isotope shifts for the Dy I 421.291 nm transition [$4f^{10}6s^2 (J=8)\to4f^{10}6s6p (J=9)$] using atomic beam laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy is presented. A King Plot analysis is performed to determine a specific mass shift of $δν_{sms}^{164-162}=11(7)$ Hz for the 421-nm transition, confirming the pure $4f^{10}6s6p$ configuration of the excited state. This transition is currently being explored for laser cooling of an atomic beam of dysprosium used in a search for a temporal variation of the fine-structure constant.
Atomic physics has greatly advanced quantum science, mainly due to the ability to control the position and internal quantum state of atoms with high precision, often at the quantum limit. The dominant tool for this is laser light, which can structure and localize atoms in space (e.g., in optical tweezers, optical lattices, 1D tubes or 2D planes). Due to the diffraction limit of light, the natural length scale for most experiments with atoms is on the order of 500 nm or larger. Here we implement a new super-resolution technique which localizes and arranges atoms on a sub-50 nm scale, without an…
We present temporal intensity correlation measurements of light scattered by a hot atomic vapor. Clear evidence of photon bunching is shown at very short time-scales (nanoseconds) imposed by the Doppler broadening of the hot vapor. Moreover, we demonstrate that relevant information about the scattering process, such as the ratio of single to multiple scattering, can be deduced from the measured intensity correlation function. These measurements confirm the interest of temporal intensity correlation to access non-trivial spectral features, with potential applications in astrophysics.
Scalar dark matter can interact with Standard Model (SM) particles, altering the fundamental constants of Nature in the process. Changes in the fundamental constants during and prior to Big Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) produce changes in the primordial abundances of the light elements. By comparing the measured and calculated (within the SM) primordial abundance of $^{4}$He, which is predominantly determined by the ratio of the neutron-proton mass difference to freeze-out temperature at the time of weak interaction freeze-out prior to BBN, we are able to derive stringent constraints on the mass …
The efficiency of optical trapping is determined by the atomic dynamic dipole polarizability, whose real and imaginary parts are associated with the potential energy and photon-scattering rate respectively. In this article we develop a formalism to calculate analytically the real and imaginary parts of the scalar, vector and tensor polarizabilities of lanthanide atoms. We assume that the sum-over-state formula only comprises transitions involving electrons in the valence orbitals like $6s$, $5d$, $6p$ or $7s$, while transitions involving $4f$ core electrons are neglected. Applying this formali…
Accurate measurements of different transition frequencies between atomic levels of the electronic and hyperfine structure over time are used to investigate temporal variations of the fine structure constant $α$ and the proton-to-electron mass ratio $μ$. We measure the frequency of the $^2S_{1/2}\rightarrow {^2F_{7/2}}$ electric octupole (E3) transition in $^{171}$Yb$^+$ against two caesium fountain clocks as $f(E3) = 642\,121\,496\,772\,645.36(25)$~Hz with an improved fractional uncertainty of $3.9\times 10^{-16}$. This transition frequency shows a strong sensitivity to changes of $α$. Togethe…
We have studied the temporal behavior of the atomic absorption signal under resonant excitation with a continuous-wave laser radiation. Measurements done for D2 line of 85Rb with ~ 1 ns temporal resolution have shown irregular oscillatory behavior of the transmission signal, which becomes well pronounced for high laser power, and disappears when the laser is tuned off-resonance. Application of the fast Fourier transform analysis of the transmission signal reveals power-dependent frequency peaks, which are shown to be associated with Rabi frequency. Possible linkage of the observed results with…
We perform calculations of the dependence of nuclear magnetic moments on quark masses and obtain limits on the variation of m_q/Lambda_{QCD} from recent atomic clock experiments with hyperfine transitions in H, Rb, Cs, Hg+ and optical transtion in Hg+.
The comparison of different atomic transition frequencies over time can be used to determine the present value of the temporal derivative of the fine structure constant alpha in a model-independent way without assumptions on constancy or variability of other parameters. We have measured an optical transition frequency at 688 THz in ^{171}Yb+ with a cesium atomic clock at two times separated by 2.8 years and find a value for the fractional variation of the frequency ratio $f_{\rm Yb}/f_{\rm Cs}$ of $(-1.2\pm 4.4)\cdot 10^{-15}$ yr$^{-1}$, consistent with zero. Combined with recently published v…
We perform calculations of the dependence of nuclear magnetic moments on quark masses and obtain limits on the variation of the ratio of quark mass and strong interaction scale (m_q/Lambda_{QCD}) from recent atomic clock experiments with hyperfine transitions in H, Rb, Cs, Yb+, Hg+ and optical transition in Hg+. Experiments with Cd+, deuterium/hydrogen, molecule SF_6, Zeeman transitions in He_3/Xe are also discussed.
Direct frequency-comb spectroscopy is used to probe the absolute frequencies of $6S_{1/2}$-$8S_{1/2}$ two-photon transitions of atomic cesium in hot vapor environment. By utilizing the coherent control method of temporally splitting the laser spectrum above and below the two-photon resonance frequency, Doppler-free absorption is built in two spatially distinct locations and imaged for high-precision spectroscopy. Theoretical analysis finds that these transition lines are measured with uncertainty below $5\times10^{-10}$, mainly contributed from laser-induced AC Stark shift.
We develop a temperature measurement of an atomic cloud based on the temporal correlations of fluorescence photons evanescently coupled into an optical nanofiber. We measure the temporal width of the intensity-intensity correlation function due to atomic transit time and use it to determine the most probable atomic velocity, hence the temperature. This technique agrees well with standard time-of-flight temperature measurements. We confirm our results with trajectory simulations.
Attempts are made to unify gravity with the other three fundamental forces of nature. As suggested by higher dimensional models, this unification may require space and time variation of some dimensionless fundamental constants. In this scenario, probing temporal variation of the electromagnetic fine structure constant ($α= \frac{e^2} {\hbar c}$) in low energy regimes at the cosmological time scale is of immense interest. Atomic clocks are ideal candidates for probing $α$ variation because their transition frequencies are measured to ultra-high precision accuracy. Since atomic transition freque…
Theories unifying gravity and other interactions suggest the possibility of spatial and temporal variation of physical ``constants''. Accuracy achieved for the atomic optical frequency standards (optical clocks) approaches the level when possible time evolution of the fine structure constant $α$ can be studied by comparisons of rates between clocks based on different atomic transitions in different atoms. The sensitivity to variation of $α$ is due to relativistic corrections which are different in different atoms ($\sim Z^2α^2$). We have calculated the values of the relativistic energy shifts …
We calculate the dependence of the nuclear magnetic moments on the quark masses including the spin-spin interaction effects and obtain limits on the variation of the fine structure constant $α$ and $(m_q/Λ_{QCD})$ using recent atomic clock experiments examining hyperfine transitions in H, Rb, Cs, Yb$^+$ and Hg$^+$ and the optical transition in H, Hg$^+$ and Yb$^+$ .
We perform calculations of the dependence of nuclear magnetic moments on quark masses and obtain limits on the variation of $(m_q/Λ_{QCD})$ from recent measurements of hydrogen hyperfine (21 cm) and molecular rotational transitions in quasar absorption systems, atomic clock experiments with hyperfine transitions in H, Rb, Cs, Yb$^+$, Hg$^+$ and optical transition in Hg$^+$. Experiments with Cd$^+$, deuterium/hydrogen, molecular SF$_6$ and Zeeman transitions in $^3$He/Xe are also discussed.
We describe an automatic event recognition (AER) system based on a three-dimensional spatio-temporal correlator (STC) that combines the techniques of holographic correlation and photon echo based temporal pattern recognition. The STC is shift invariant in space and time. It can be used to recognize rapidly an event (e.g., a short video clip) that may be present in a large video file, and determine the temporal location of the event. Using polar Mellin transform, it is possible to realize an STC that is also scale and rotation invariant spatially. Numerical simulation results of such a system a…
In this paper we propose a dark-state-based trapping strategy to break the optical diffraction limit for microscopy. We utilize a spatially dependent coupling field and a probe laser field with temporal and spatial modulation to interact with three-level atoms. The temporal modulation allows us to reduce the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of point spread function, and the spatial modulation help us obtain better spatial resolution than Gaussian beam. In addition, we also propose a proof-of-principle experiment protocol and discuss its feasibility.
We demonstrate that massive fields, such as dark matter, can directly produce a cosmological evolution of the fundamental constants of Nature. We show that a scalar or pseudoscalar (axion-like) dark matter field $ϕ$, which forms a coherently oscillating classical field and interacts with Standard Model particles via quadratic couplings in $ϕ$, produces `slow' cosmological evolution and oscillating variations of the fundamental constants. We derive limits on the quadratic interactions of $ϕ$ with the photon, electron and light quarks from measurements of the primordial $^4$He abundance produced…
We have observed spontaneous symmetry breaking of atomic populations in the dynamic phase-space double-potential system, which is produced in the parametrically driven magneto-optical trap of atoms. We find that the system exhibits similar characteristics of the Ising-class phase transition and the critical value of the control parameter, which is the total atomic number, can be calculated. In particular, the collective effect of the laser shadow becomes dominant at large atomic number, which is responsible for the population asymmetry of the dynamic two-state system. This study may be useful …
The dynamics of a two-mode Bose-Einstein condensate trapped in a double-well potential results approximately in an effective Rabi oscillation regime of exchange of population between both wells for sufficiently strong overlap between the modes functions. Facing this system as a temporal atomic beam splitter we show that this regime is optimal for a nondestructive atom-number measurement allowing an atomic homodyne detection, thus yielding indirect relative phase information about one of the two-mode condensates.
We have studied stationary and quasi-stationary signal light pulses in cold lambda-type atomic media driven by counterpropagating control laser fields at the condition of electromagnetically induced transparency. By deriving a dispersion relation we present spectral and temporal properties of the signal light pulse and a significant influence of atomic decoherence on the coupled stationary light pulses for spatial splitting. Finally we discuss quasi-stationary light pulse evolution characterized by frozen spatial spreading for a robust coherent control of slow light pulses.
