Measurement of a wavelength of light for which the energy shift for an atom vanishes

William F. Holmgren, Raisa Trubko, Ivan Hromada, Alexander D. Cronin

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

59 Scopus citations

Abstract

Light at a magic-zero wavelength causes a zero energy shift for an atom. We measured the longest magic-zero wavelength for ground state potassium atoms to be λzero=768.9712(15) nm, and we show how this measurement provides an improved experimental benchmark for atomic structure calculations. This λzero measurement determines the ratio of the potassium atom D1 and D2 line strengths with record precision. It also demonstrates a new application for atom interferometry, and we discuss how decoherence will fundamentally limit future measurements of magic-zero wavelengths.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number243004
JournalPhysical review letters
Volume109
Issue number24
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 14 2012

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Physics and Astronomy

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