33 research outputs found
Optical decay from a Fabry-Perot cavity faster than the decay time
The dynamical response of an optical Fabry-Perot cavity is investigated
experimentally. We observe oscillations in the transmitted and reflected light
intensity if the frequency of the incoupled light field is rapidly changed. In
addition, the decay of a cavity-stored light field is accelerated if the phase
and intensity of the incoupled light are switched in an appropriate way. The
theoretical model by M. J. Lawrence em et al, JOSA B 16, 523 (1999) agrees with
our observations.Comment: submitted to Josa
Precise calculation of parity nonconservation in cesium and test of the standard model
We have calculated the 6s-7s parity nonconserving (PNC) E1 transition
amplitude, E_{PNC}, in cesium. We have used an improved all-order technique in
the calculation of the correlations and have included all significant
contributions to E_{PNC}. Our final value E_{PNC} = 0.904 (1 +/- 0.5 %) \times
10^{-11}iea_{B}(-Q_{W}/N) has half the uncertainty claimed in old calculations
used for the interpretation of Cs PNC experiments. The resulting nuclear weak
charge Q_{W} for Cs deviates by about 2 standard deviations from the value
predicted by the standard model.Comment: 24 pages, 8 figure
Absolute Frequency Measurements of the Hg^+ and Ca Optical Clock Transitions with a Femtosecond Laser
The frequency comb created by a femtosecond mode-locked laser and a
microstructured fiber is used to phase coherently measure the frequencies of
both the Hg^+ and Ca optical standards with respect to the SI second as
realized at NIST. We find the transition frequencies to be f_Hg=1 064 721 609
899 143(10) Hz and f_Ca=455 986 240 494 158(26) Hz, respectively. In addition
to the unprecedented precision demonstrated here, this work is the precursor to
all-optical atomic clocks based on the Hg^+ and Ca standards. Furthermore, when
combined with previous measurements, we find no time variations of these atomic
frequencies within the uncertainties of |(df_Ca/dt)/f_Ca| < 8 x 10^{-14}
yr^{-1}, and |(df_Hg/dt)/f_Hg|< 30 x 10^{-14} yr^{-1}.Comment: 6 pages, including 4 figures. RevTex 4. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Sub-dekahertz ultraviolet spectroscopy of 199Hg+
Using a laser that is frequency-locked to a Fabry-Perot etalon of high
finesse and stability, we probe the 5d10 6s 2S_1/2 (F=0) - 5d9 6s 2D_5/2 (F=2)
Delta-m_F = 0 electric-quadrupole transition of a single laser-cooled 199Hg+
ion stored in a cryogenic radio-frequency ion trap. We observe
Fourier-transform limited linewidths as narrow as 6.7 Hz at 282 nm (1.06 X
10^15 Hz), yielding a line Q = 1.6 X 10^14. We perform a preliminary
measurement of the 5d9 6s2 2D_5/2 electric-quadrupole shift due to interaction
with the static fields of the trap, and discuss the implications for future
trapped-ion optical frequency standards.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, submitted for publicatio
Measurement of the 6S-7S transition polarizablility in atomic cesium and an improved test of the standard model
The ratio of the off-diagonal hyperfine amplitude to the tensor transition
polarizability (Mhf/beta) for the 6S-7S transition in cesium has been measured.
The value of beta=27.024(43)(expt)(67)(theory)a_0^3 is then obtained using an
accurate semi-empirical value of Mhf. This is combined with a previous
measurement of parity nonconservation in atomic cesium and previous atomic
structure calculations to determine the value of the weak charge. The
uncertainties in the atomic structure calculations are updated (and reduced) in
light of new experimental tests. The result Q_W=-72.06(28)(expt) (34)(theory)
differs from the prediction of the standard model of elementary particle
physics by 2.5 sigma.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figur
Transition Between Ground State and Metastable States in Classical 2D Atoms
Structural and static properties of a classical two-dimensional (2D) system
consisting of a finite number of charged particles which are laterally confined
by a parabolic potential are investigated by Monte Carlo (MC) simulations and
the Newton optimization technique. This system is the classical analog of the
well-known quantum dot problem. The energies and configurations of the ground
and all metastable states are obtained. In order to investigate the barriers
and the transitions between the ground and all metastable states we first
locate the saddle points between them, then by walking downhill from the saddle
point to the different minima, we find the path in configurational space from
the ground state to the metastable states, from which the geometric properties
of the energy landscape are obtained. The sensitivity of the ground-state
configuration on the functional form of the inter-particle interaction and on
the confinement potential is also investigated
Calculations of parity nonconserving s-d transitions in Cs, Fr, Ba II, and Ra II
We have performed ab initio mixed-states and sum-over-states calculations of
parity nonconserving (PNC) electric dipole (E1) transition amplitudes between
s-d electron states of Cs, Fr, Ba II, and Ra II. For the lower states of these
atoms we have also calculated energies, E1 transition amplitudes, and
lifetimes. We have shown that PNC E1 transition amplitudes between s-d states
can be calculated to high accuracy. Contrary to the Cs 6s-7s transition, in
these transitions there are no strong cancelations between different terms in
the sum-over-states approach. In fact, there is one dominating term which
deviates from the sum by less than 20%. This term corresponds to an s-p_{1/2}
weak matrix element, which can be calculated to better than 1%, and a
p_{1/2}-d_{3/2} E1 transition amplitude, which can be measured. Also, the s-d
amplitudes are about four times larger than the corresponding s-s transitions.
We have shown that by using a hybrid mixed-states/sum-over-states approach the
accuracy of the calculations of PNC s-d amplitudes could compete with that of
Cs 6s-7s if p_{1/2}-d_{3/2} E1 amplitudes are measured to high accuracy.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Caesium 6P fine-structure mixing and quenching induced by collisions with ground-state caesium atoms and molecules
Absolute frequency measurement of the In clock transition with a mode-locked laser
The absolute frequency of the In -
clock transition at 237 nm was measured with an accuracy of 1.8 parts in
. Using a phase-coherent frequency chain, we compared the
- transition with a methane-stabilized He-Ne laser at 3.39 m
which was calibrated against an atomic cesium fountain clock. A frequency gap
of 37 THz at the fourth harmonic of the He-Ne standard was bridged by a
frequency comb generated by a mode-locked femtosecond laser. The frequency of
the In clock transition was found to be
kHz, the accuracy being limited by the uncertainty of the He-Ne laser
reference. This represents an improvement in accuracy of more than 2 orders of
magnitude on previous measurements of the line and now stands as the most
accurate measurement of an optical transition in a single ion.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures. accepted for publication in Opt. Let
Quasi-continuous Interpolation Scheme for Pathways between Distant Configurations
A quasi-continuous interpolation (QCI) scheme is introduced for characterizing physically realistic initial pathways from which to initiate transition state searches and construct kinetic transition networks. Applications are presented for peptides, proteins, and a morphological transformation in an atomic cluster. The first step in each case involves end point alignment, and we describe the use of a shortest augmenting path algorithm for optimizing permutational isomers. The QCI procedure then employs an interpolating potential, which preserves the covalent bonding framework for the biomolecules and includes repulsive terms between unconstrained atoms. This potential is used to identify an interpolating path by minimizing contributions from a connected set of images, including terms corresponding to minima in the interatomic distances between them. This procedure detects unphysical geometries in the line segments between images. The most difficult cases, where linear interpolation would involve chain crossings, are treated by growing the structure an atom at a time using the interpolating potential. To test the QCI procedure, we carry through a series of benchmark calculations where the initial interpolation is coupled to explicit transition state searches to produce complete pathways between specified local minima.This work was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council [grant number EP/H042660/1]This document is the unedited Author’s version of a Submitted Work that was subsequently accepted for publication in the Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation, copyright © American Chemical Society after peer review. To access the final edited and published work see http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/ct300483