Thermal contribution to measured $g$-factors in alkali-like atoms

TL;DR

This paper investigates how thermal effects influence the electron $g$-factors in alkali-like atoms, providing calculations for Rb and Cs to improve the accuracy of spectroscopic measurements.

Contribution

It introduces a one-loop thermal correction to $g$-factors in neutral alkali-like atoms, which has not been thoroughly analyzed before.

Findings

Thermal corrections to $g$-factors are significant at current measurement precisions.

Calculations for Rb and Cs show measurable thermal effects on $g$-factors.

Results may impact future high-precision atomic spectroscopy.

Abstract

In this paper, we consider a one-loop thermal correction to the $g$-factors of the ground and low-lying excited states in neutral alkaline-like atomic systems. As an example, we carried out calculations for Rb and Cs atoms, where optical measurements of transition frequencies set the metrological level of accuracy. With the development of atomic systems as the most accurate tool for spectroscopic experiments, it has become increasingly important to improve the accuracy of measuring the electron $g$-factor, which is currently at ~$10^{-12}$. The rapid progress in this field in recent years requires analysis not only of various relativistic, QED and other effects, but also theoretical studies of phenomena stimulated by the external thermal environment. We can expect that the thermal contribution to the $g$-factor calculated in our work may be of interest in the near future.