Developments with Ultracold Hydrogen
Abstract
We present an overview of current and planned experiments in the Ultracold Hydrogen Group at MIT. One project is high resolution spectroscopic measurements of 2S-nS two-photon transitions on our ultracold, trapped hydrogen sample. Our goal is an improvement in the value of the Rydberg constant and the Lamb shift by an order of magnitude. To probe the 2S-nS transitions, we have constructed a frequency comb which can be referenced to the 1S-2S transition while simultaneously covering the 2S-nS spectral range completely. We have built an array of diode lasers which will be referenced to comb lines. These will be used to pump the 2S-nS transitions. We observe the higher order transitions via a reduction in the metastable 2S atom signal. Another project is the design of a new hydrogen cryostat and magnetic trap apparatus which will use buffer gas cooling to yield larger atomic clouds, better signal to noise ratio for detection, and more optical access. This work is supported by the NSF and the Office of Naval Research.
- Publication:
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APS Division of Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- May 2003
- Bibcode:
- 2003APS..DMP.D1067J