SearcharxivSearch

arXiv · 1409.2576

Measurement of magic wavelengths for the 40Ca+ clock transition

Abstract

We demonstrate experimentally the existence of magic wavelengths and determine the ratio of the oscillator strengths for a single trapped ion. For the first time, two magic wavelengths for the 40Ca+ clock-transition are measured simultaneously with high precision, giving Lamda|mj|=1/2 = 395.7992(7) nm and Lamda|mj|=3/2 = 395.7990(7) nm. By tuning a laser to an intermediate wavelength between two transitions (4s1/2-4p1/2 and 4s1/2-4p3/2) of 40Ca+, the sensitivity of the clock transition Stark shift to the oscillator strengths for the resonance transition has been greatly enhanced. With the measured magic wavelengths, we determine the ratio of the oscillator strengths to sub-0.5% accuracy. Our experimental method may be applied to measure magic wavelengths for other ion clock-transitions, and, promisingly, the measurement of these magic wavelengths paves the way to building lattice ion clocks.

Explore related subjects

Keep this discovery

BibTeXRIS

Peiliang Liu, Yao Huang, Wu Bian, Hu Shao, Hua Guan, Yongbo Tang, Chengbin Li, J. Mitroy, Kelin Gao. 2014-09-09. Measurement of magic wavelengths for the 40Ca+ clock transition. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.114.223001

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

Delay-engineered dynamical phases in a programmable non-Markovian spin oscillator

Non-Markovian dynamics offer a new route towards engineering non-equilibrium matter, where memory and feedback act as programmable resources for controlling order in time. Here we report the realization of a non-Markovian spin oscillator in a hot vapour $^{129}$Xe-Cs co-magnetometer with programmable feedback delay and gain. By tuning these parameters, we observe a hierarchy of dynamical phases, including time-crystalline response, nonlinear bifurcations, and frequency-comb formation. The measured spectra and phase boundaries are captured by linear stability analysis of delayed Bloch equations, revealing these phenomena as different manifestations of the same memory-induced instability structure. These results establish time-delayed feedback as a powerful strategy for controlling non-equilibrium phases, enabling quantum sensing, frequency referencing, and synchronization within a single spin-based platform.

physics.atom-ph

Non-stick vacuum wall collisions with a laser-coolable molecule

Molecular species that are suitable for direct laser cooling are typically considered lost or destroyed if they collide with an ambient temperature vacuum wall. Here, we study surface collisions with aluminum monofluoride (AlF), a laser-coolable molecule that survives this process with unusually high probability. We detect the outgoing AlF molecules from a single wall collision via Doppler-sensitive laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy, using incoming supersonic (pulsed) and thermochemical (continuous) molecular beams. The angular, velocity and rovibrational level distributions of the outgoing molecules show near-complete thermalisation to the wall in a single collision event. We determine an upper limit to the surface residence time of about 5$~\mu$s, and by monitoring the decay in density of pulses of molecules loaded into a small storage volume, we deduce the surface sticking probability for different materials. For a siloxane-coated metallic surface, the sticking probability of AlF is about 0.015, allowing us to accumulate molecules from the thermochemical source into an ambient temperature storage vessel at densities near $10^{8}~$cm$^{-3}$. This provides a route to compact, portable traps for neutral molecules.

physics.atom-ph

Kinetic modeling of molecular beam formation in a cryogenic buffer-gas cell

Cryogenic buffer-gas cells are widely used to produce cold molecular beams, but the microscopic dynamics governing beam formation remain challenging to model. Here we present fully kinetic simulations of a cryogenic buffer-gas cell using the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo method implemented in the PICLas framework, treating the buffer gas and ablated molecules within a single unified model. We capture characteristic features of cryogenic buffer-gas sources, including plume cooling, directed transport toward the aperture, and the formation of a slow molecular beam, while also resolving energy transfer from the hot ablation plume to the helium buffer gas that is inaccessible to existing approaches relying on the background-gas approximation. Our results demonstrate that fully kinetic simulations can provide detailed insights into buffer-gas cell dynamics and open a route toward a systematic optimization of such sources.

physics.atom-ph