Precise measurements of UV atomic lines: Hyperfine structure and isotope shifts in the 398.8 nm line of Yb

Abstract

We demonstrate a technique for frequency measurements of UV transitions with sub-MHz precision. The frequency is measured using a ring-cavity resonator whose length is calibrated against a reference laser locked to the $D_2$ line of ${}^{87}$Rb. We have used this to measure the 398.8 nm ${{}^{1}S}_0\leftrightarrow {{}^{1}P}_1$ line of atomic Yb. We report isotope shifts of all the seven stable isotopes, including the rarest isotope ${}^{168}$Yb. We have been able to resolve the overlapping ${}^{173}$Yb($F=3/2$) and ${}^{172}$Yb transitions for the first time. We also obtain high-precision measurements of excited-state hyperfine structure in the odd isotopes, ${}^{171}$Yb and ${}^{173}$Yb. The measurements resolve several discrepancies among earlier measurements.

7 pages, 6 figures

Cited by in corpus (1)

• Absolute frequency measurements of the $D_2$ line and fine-structure interval in ${}^{39}$K