Determination of quantum defects and core polarizability of atomic cesium via terahertz and radio-frequency spectroscopy in thermal vapor

Allinson, Gianluca; Downes, Lucy A; Adams, C Stuart; Weatherill, Kevin J

Abstract

We present new measurements of quantum defects and core polarizabilities in cesium (133 Cs), based on transition frequency measurements between Rydberg states (14 n 38) obtained through THz and radio-frequency spectroscopy in a thermal atomic vapor. We perform a global fitting of our measurements to extract quantum defects of the s 1/2 , p 1/2 , p 3/2 , d 3/2 , d 5/2 , f 5/2 , f 7/2 , g 7/2 , and g 9/2 electronic states. Transitions between high angular momentum states (4 8) were measured to extract the Cs + dipole and quadrupole polarizabilities. We find α d = 15.729(18) a 3 0 and α q = 76.3(1.9) a 5 0 respectively. Using these results, and accounting for the covariances between parameters in the global fit, the energies for n j Rydberg states can be estimated to a precision of a few MHz or less.

Citation

Allinson, G., Downes, L. A., Adams, C. S., & Weatherill, K. J. (2025). Determination of quantum defects and core polarizability of atomic cesium via terahertz and radio-frequency spectroscopy in thermal vapor. Physical Review A, 111(6), Article 062802. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.111.062802

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 14, 2025
• Online Publication Date: Jun 2, 2025
• Publication Date: 2025-06
• Deposit Date: Jun 2, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 3, 2025
• Journal: Physical Review A
• Print ISSN: 2469-9926
• Electronic ISSN: 2469-9934
• Publisher: American Physical Society
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 111
• Issue: 6
• Article Number: 062802
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.111.062802
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/4055590