Observation and laser spectroscopy of ytterbium monomethoxide, YbOCH$_3$

TL;DR

This study investigates the vibrational and electronic structure of ytterbium monomethoxide using laser spectroscopy and calculations, demonstrating its potential for enhanced sensitivity in fundamental symmetry violation experiments.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed spectroscopic data on YbOCH$_3$ and shows that rapid optical cycling is achievable, enabling future precision measurements of P- and T-violation.

Findings

Vibrational structure characterized in $ ilde{X}$ and $ ilde{A}$ states

Vibrational branching ratios measured for $ ilde{A}$ state

Radiative lifetimes of low-lying states determined

Abstract

We describe a laser spectroscopic study of ytterbium monomethoxide, YbOCH$_3$, a species of interest to searches for time-reversal symmetry violation using laser-cooled molecules. We report measurements of vibrational structure in the $\tilde{X}$ and $\tilde{A}$ states, vibrational branching ratios for several components of the $\tilde{A}$ state, and radiative lifetimes of low-lying electronic states. $\textit{Ab initio}$ calculations are used to aid the assignment of vibronic emission bands and provide insight into the electronic and vibrational structure. Our results demonstrate that rapid optical cycling is feasible for YbOCH$_3$, opening a path to orders-of-magnitude increased sensitivity in future measurements of P- and/or T-violating physics.