Lifetime measurement of the ^3P_2 metastable state of strontium atoms

Abstract

We have measured the lifetime of the 5s5p ^3P_2 metastable state of strontium atoms by magneto-optically trapping the decayed atoms to the ground state, which allowed sensitive detection of the rare decay events. We found that the blackbody radiation-induced decay was the dominant decay channel for the state at T = 300 K. The lifetime was determined to be 500^{+280}_{-130} s in the limit of zero temperature.

4 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Physical Review Letters