Study of the 5p3/2 -> 6p3/2 electric dipole forbidden transition in atomic rubidium using optical-optical double resonance spectroscopy

Abstract

Direct evidence of excitation of the 5p3/2 -> 6p3/2 electric dipole forbidden transition in atomic rubidium is presented. The experiments were performed in a room temperature rubidium cell with continuous wave extended cavity diode lasers. Optical-optical double resonance spectroscopy with counterpropagating beams allows the detection of the non-dipole transition free of Doppler broadening. The 5p3/2 state is prepared by excitation with a laser locked to the maximum F cyclic transition of the D2 line, and the forbidden transition is produced by excitation with a 911 nm laser. Production of the forbidden transition is monitored by detection of the 420 nm fluorescence that results from decay of the 6p3/2 state. Spectra with three narrow lines (~ 13 MHz FWHM) with the characteristic F - 1, F and F + 1 splitting of the 6p3/2 hyperfine structure in both rubidium isotopes were obtained. The results are in very good agreement with a direct calculation that takes into account the 5s -> 5p3/2 preparation dynamics, the 5p3/2 -> 6p3/2 non-dipole excitation geometry and the 6p3/2 -> 5s1/2 decay. The comparison also shows that the electric dipole forbidden transition is a very sensitive probe of the preparation dynamics.

arXiv comment5 pages, 3 figures. To be submitted to Physical Review Letters

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Cited by in corpus (4)

• Observation of the ${}^{87}$Rb $5S_{1/2}$ to $4D_{3/2}$ electric quadrupole transition at 516.6 nm mediated via an optical nanofibre
• Doppler-free approach to optical pumping dynamics in the $6S_{1/2}-5D_{5/2}$ electric quadrupole transition of Cesium vapor
• Parallel implementation of CNOT${}^N$ and C${}_2$NOT${}^2$ gates via homonuclear and heteronuclear Förster interactions of Rydberg atoms
• Completing the optical spectroscopy of the $6p_J$ manifold: the $5p_{3/2}\to 6p_{1/2}$ electric dipole forbidden transition in atomic rubidium