Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to E N Fortson.
We report an observation of the weak 6 1S0-6 3P0 transition in (171,173)Yb as an important step to establishing Yb as a primary candidate for future optical frequency standards, and to open up a new approach for qubits using the 1S0 and 3P0 states of Yb atoms in an optical lattice.
A sharp resonance line that appears in three-photon transitions between the 1S0 and 3P0 states of alkaline earth and Yb atoms is proposed as an optical frequency standard. This proposal permits the use of the even isotopes, in which the clock transition is narrower than in proposed clocks using the odd isotopes and the energy interval is not affected by external magnetic fields or the polarization of trapping light. With this method, the width and the rate of the clock transition can, in principle, be continuously adjusted from the MHz level to sub-mHz without loss of signal amplitude by varying the intensities of the three optical beams. Doppler and recoil effects can be eliminated by proper alignment of the three optical beams or by point confinement in a lattice trap. Light-shift effects on the clock accuracy can be limited to below a part in 10(18).
We have employed the method of shelving to measure Zeeman resonances of a single trapped Ba+ ion. We use optical pumping to place the ion in a selected magnetic sublevel of either the 6S(1/2) ground state or the 5D(3/2) metastable state. The ion is exposed to an rf field, and a probing/shelving mechanism detects whether spin-flip transitions have taken place. We have observed rf transitions with linewidths of 15 Hz, limited by magnetic-field noise. We have also observed the shift in the Zeeman frequency when the ion is illuminated by off-resonant light. A simultaneous measurement of such light shifts in two atomic states of Ba+ will permit a precise determination of the ratio of transition matrix elements.
We present the first results of a new search for a permanent electric dipole moment of the 199Hg atom using a UV laser. Our measurements give d(199Hg) = -(1.06+/-0.49+/-0.40)x10(-28)e cm. We interpret the result as an upper limit absolute value [d(199Hg)]<2.1x10(-28)e cm (95% C.L.), which sets new constraints on theta bar;(QCD), chromo-EDMs of the quarks, and CP violation in supersymmetric models.