Measurement of the scalar polarizability within the 5P1/2-6S1/2, 410 nm transition in atomic indium

TL;DR

This study precisely measures the Stark shift and scalar polarizability difference in atomic indium's 410 nm transition, improving accuracy by a factor of 30 and confirming theoretical calculations.

Contribution

It provides the most precise experimental measurement of the scalar polarizability in indium's 5P1/2-6S1/2 transition, validating ab initio theoretical models.

Findings

Stark shift constant measured as -122.92(33) kHz/(kV/cm)^2

Polarizability difference 000.2(2.7) a.u.

Measurement precision increased thirtyfold compared to previous work.

Abstract

We have completed a new measurement of the Stark shift in 115In within the 410 nm 5P1/2- 6S1/2 transition. We measure the Stark shift constant to be kS= - 122.92(33)kHz/(kV/cm)^2, corresponding to a difference in the 6S1/2 and 5P1/2 state polarizabilities, \Delta\alpha_0, of 1000.2 (2.7) a.u.(in atomic units). This result is a factor of 30 more precise than previous measurements and is in excellent agreement with a new theoretical value based on an ab initio calculation of the wave functions in this three-valence-electron system. The measurement was performed in an indium atomic beam apparatus, used a GaN laser diode system, and exploited an FM spectroscopy technique to extract laser transmission spectra under conditions where our interaction region optical depth was typically less than 10^-3.