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arXiv · 1909.05958

Measurement of the hyperfine coupling constant for $nS_{1/2}$ Rydberg states of $^{85}$Rb

Abstract

We present measurements of the hyperfine structure splittings of $nS_{1/2}$ Rydberg states of $^{85}$Rb for $n$= 43, 44, 45 and 46. From the splittings, the hyperfine coupling constant, $A_{\mathrm{HFS}}$, is determined to be 15.372(80) GHz. This result is an order-of-magnitude improvement from previous measurements. We study and account for systematic uncertainty sources, such as unwanted electric and magnetic fields, dipolar Rydberg-Rydberg interactions, and AC shifts. Initial evidence for hyperfine-mixed Rydberg pair states is found.

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Andira Ramos, Ryan Cardman, Georg Raithel. 2019-09-12. Measurement of the hyperfine coupling constant for $nS_{1/2}$ Rydberg states of $^{85}$Rb. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreva.100.062515

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