Measurement of the Ra$^+$ $7p$ $^{2}P_{3/2}$ state lifetime

TL;DR

This paper reports a precise measurement of the radium ion's $7p$ ${}^{2}P_{3/2}$ state lifetime, which aligns with theoretical predictions and aids in optical clock development.

Contribution

The paper provides the first experimental measurement of the radium ion's $7p$ ${}^{2}P_{3/2}$ state lifetime, supporting future atomic physics and clock research.

Findings

Measured lifetime: 4.78(3) ns

Agreement with theoretical calculations

Enables determination of scalar polarizability

Abstract

We report a measurement of the radium ion's $7p$ ${}^{2}P_{3/2}$ state lifetime, $\tau=4.78(3)$ ns. The measured lifetime is in good agreement with theoretical calculations, and will enable a determination of the differential scalar polarizability of the narrow linewidth $7s$ ${}^{2}S_{1/2}\rightarrow$ $6d$ ${}^{2}D_{5/2}$ optical clock transition.