Doppler spectroscopy of an ytterbium Bose-Einstein condensate on the clock transition

2014/12/18 by Alexandre Dareau, A. Dareau, Matthias Scholl +7
Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Frequency and Time Standards #Atomic physics #Bose–Einstein condensate #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #Condensed matter physics #Doppler effect #Laser #Optical cavity #Optics #Physics #Quantum optics and atomic interactions #Resonance (particle physics) #Spectral line #Spectroscopy #Ytterbium #cond-mat.quant-gas #physics.atom-ph

paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physreva.91.023626

published as Phys. Rev. A 91, 023626 (2015)

arxiv created 2014/12/18 · openalex publication_date 2015/02/24 · arxiv updated 2015/03/06 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05

Abstract

We describe Doppler spectroscopy of Bose-Einstein condensates of ytterbium atoms using a narrow optical transition. We address the optical clock transition around 578 nm between the ¹S₀ and the ³P₀ states with a laser system locked on a high-finesse cavity. We show how the absolute frequency of the cavity modes can be determined within a few tens of kilohertz using high-resolution spectroscopy on molecular iodine. We show that optical spectra reflect the velocity distribution of expanding condensates in free fall or after release inside an optical waveguide. We demonstrate subkilohertz spectral linewidths, with long-term drifts of the resonance frequency well below 1 kHz/h. These results open the way to high-resolution spectroscopy of many-body systems.

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