Observation of the Nuclear Magnetic Octupole Moment of 87Rb from Spectroscopic Measurements of Hyperfine Intervals

TL;DR

This paper reports the experimental determination of the nuclear magnetic octupole moment of 87Rb using hyperfine interval measurements and atomic structure calculations, confirming the presence of a significant octupole moment.

Contribution

It provides the first measurement of the nuclear magnetic octupole moment of 87Rb from spectroscopic hyperfine data, incorporating second-order corrections.

Findings

Hyperfine constant C indicates a nuclear magnetic octupole moment.

The octupole moment Omega is measured as -0.58(39) (b muN).

Second-order corrections are negligible.

Abstract

The magnetic octupole moment of 87Rb is determined from hyperfine intervals in the 5p 2P[3/2] state measured by Ye et al. [Opt. Lett. 21, 1280 (1996)]. Hyperfine constants A = 84.7189(22) MHz, B = 12.4942(43) MHz, and C = -0.12(09) kHz are obtained from the published measurements. The existence of a significant value for C indicates the presence of a nuclear magnetic octupole moment Omega. Combining the hyperfine constants with atomic structure calculations, we obtain Omega = -0.58(39) (b muN). Second-order corrections arising from interaction with the nearby 5p 2P[1/2] state are found to be insignificant.