Optical deceleration of atomic hydrogen

TL;DR

This paper introduces an optical deceleration method for atomic hydrogen using a moving optical lattice, enabling improved motional control crucial for high-precision spectroscopy and antimatter comparisons.

Contribution

It presents a novel technique to decelerate hydrogen atoms via a moving optical lattice, bypassing the challenges of laser cooling in hydrogen.

Findings

Successful deceleration of metastable hydrogen atoms.

Demonstration of a robust platform for hydrogen motional control.

Potential for enhanced precision in hydrogen and antimatter spectroscopy.

Abstract

High-precision hydrogen spectroscopy is an active field which helps to determine the Rydberg constant and proton charge radius, tests bound-state QED, and can search for Beyond Standard Model (BSM) Physics. Additionally, with recent demonstrations of anti-hydrogen trapping and spectroscopy, a new line of investigation is possible whereby hydrogen can be compared to its antimatter counterpart. The next generation of precision hydrogen spectroscopy will likely require additional motional control of the atomic sample - similar to what is possible with heavier elements. Unfortunately, laser cooling - one of the cornerstones of modern precision atomic physics - is difficult in hydrogen due to the vacuum ultraviolet radiation required. Here, we sidestep the challenges inherent in laser cooling and demonstrate a technique whereby we load metastable atoms from a cryogenic beam into a moving optical lattice, decelerate the lattice, and observe a commensurate deceleration of the atoms. Since the optical lattice is governed by standard optoelectronics, this technique represents a robust platform for the motional control of hydrogen. Our technique could enable greater precision in hydrogen spectroscopy and be transferred to exotic simple atoms such as antihydrogen.