Testing Quantum Electrodynamics in the Lowest Singlet State of Neutral Beryllium-9

We report spectroscopic results on the 2s2p1P1 state in neutral atomic beryllium-9. The absolute frequency for the center of gravity is determined to be 42 565.4501(13)  cm−1, a factor of 130 more precise than the previous experimental measurement. The result is in agreement with and a factor of 8 more precise than the current best theoretical estimate of 42 565.441(11)  cm−1, which was calculated including the effects of quantum electrodynamics. Because of the large natural linewidth of the transition, the hyperfine constants were not able to be extracted to high precision

Precision spectroscopy of beryllium

We report on the calibration and absolute frequency results for the 2s2p1P1 state in neutral atomic beryllium-9. We start off with a discussion of the method used to calibrate the laser, which includes a detailed explanation of the basic physics involved, and then discuss the results for the lowest singlet state in neutral beryllium-9. We discuss a way to predict the spectra using optical Bloch equations and then present and analyze the experimental results. We found the absolute frequency for the 1P1 state to be 42565.4487(30) cm-1, which is in agreement with the current best theoretical estimateof42565.441(11)cm-1 [49]. Amoresophisticatedanalyticaltechniqueisproposed; however, more studies need to be done to develop the complete uncertainty model. A proposed method to perform spectroscopy on another singlet state in beryllium is also presented