Electric quadrupole shifts of the precession frequencies of $^{131}$Xe atoms in rectangular cells

TL;DR

This paper investigates how quadrupole interactions affect the precession frequencies of $^{131}$Xe atoms in rectangular cells, providing methods to quantify and control these shifts for improved atomic comagnetometer accuracy.

Contribution

It offers a comprehensive analysis of quadrupole shifts in $^{131}$Xe precession frequencies, including theoretical modeling and experimental validation, considering cell geometry and surface effects.

Findings

Quadrupole splittings are fully resolved in the spectrum.

Transverse asymmetry affects the quadrupole splittings and precession frequencies.

Methods to quantify and control quadrupole-induced shifts are developed.

Abstract

We study an atomic comagnetometer design based on the spin precessions of $^{129}$Xe and $^{131}$Xe atoms in glass cells. The quadrupole splittings in the precession spectrum of $^{131}$Xe are fully resolved, allowing a precise determination of the magnetic-dipole precession frequency. The transverse asymmetry of quadrupole interactions, due to both the geometry and surface properties of the cell, characterized by a non-zero asymmetry parameter $\eta$, modifies the dependence of the quadrupole splittings on the relative orientation between the cell axes and the bias magnetic field, and lead to additional corrections in the precession frequencies of $^{131}$Xe atoms. We examine these effects both theoretically and experimentally, and develop methods to quantify and control such shifts.