Measurement of Linear Stark Interference in Hg-199

作者：Loftus T H^*; Swallows M D; Griffith W C; Romalis M V; Heckel B R; Fortson E N

来源：Physical Review Letters, 2011, 106(25): 253002.

DOI：10.1103/PhysRevLett.106.253002

We present measurements of Stark interference in the 6(1)S(0) -> 6(3)P(1) transition in Hg-199, a process whereby a static electric field E mixes magnetic dipole and electric quadrupole couplings into an electric dipole transition, leading to E-linear energy shifts similar to those produced by a permanent atomic electric dipole moment (EDM). The measured interference amplitude, a(SI) = (a(M1) + a(E2)) = (5.8 +/- 1.5) x 10(-9) (kV/cm)(-1), agrees with relativistic, many-body predictions and confirms that earlier central-field estimates are a factor of 10 too large. More importantly, this study validates the capability of the Hg-199 EDM search apparatus to resolve nontrivial, controlled, and sub-nHz Larmor frequency shifts with EDM-like characteristics.

• 出版日期2011-6-24