An Upper Bound on the Strongly Forbidden $6S_{1/2} \leftrightarrow 5D_{3/2}$ Magnetic Dipole Transition Moment in {Ba}$^{+}$

Spencer R. Williams; Anupriya Jayakumar; Matthew R. Hoffman; Boris B. Blinov; E. N. Fortson

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arXiv · 1610.04321

An Upper Bound on the Strongly Forbidden $6S_{1/2} \leftrightarrow 5D_{3/2}$ Magnetic Dipole Transition Moment in {Ba}$^{+}$

Spencer R. Williams·Anupriya Jayakumar·Matthew R. Hoffman·Boris B. Blinov·E. N. Fortson

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Abstract

We report the results from our first-generation experiment to measure the magnetic-dipole transition moment (M1) between the $6S_{1/2}$ and $5D_{3/2}$ manifolds in Ba$^{+}$. Knowledge of M1 is crucial for the proposed parity-nonconservation experiment in the ion \cite{Fortson93}, where M1 will be a leading source of systematic error. To date, no measurement of M1 has been made in Ba$^{+}$, and moreover, the sensitivity of the moment to electron-electron correlations has confounded accurate theoretical predictions. A precise measurement may help to resolve the theoretical discrepancies while providing essential information for planning a future PNC measurement in Ba$^{+}$. We demonstrate our technique for measuring M1 - including a method for calibrating for stress-induced birefringence introduced by the scientific apparatus - and place an upper bound of $\mathrm{M1} < 93 \pm 39 \times 10^{-5} \mu_{B}$.

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Spencer R. Williams, Anupriya Jayakumar, Matthew R. Hoffman, Boris B. Blinov, E. N. Fortson. 2016-10-14. An Upper Bound on the Strongly Forbidden $6S_{1/2} \leftrightarrow 5D_{3/2}$ Magnetic Dipole Transition Moment in {Ba}$^{+}$. https://arxiv.org/abs/1610.04321

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