Precision spectroscopy of circular Rydberg states of hydrogen

The Rydberg constant, R[infinity], is the scaling factor which link the spectrum of atomic hydrogen to practical laboratory energy units. Thus it has intrinsic importance by providing information on our simplest atomic system. Precision measurements of the Rydberg constant, or more accurately of the Rydberg frequency cR[infinity] , also have practical applications, since they effectively calibrate the entire hydrogen spectrum as a frequency standard. Previous measurements of R[infinity] and cR[infinity] have been carried out in the optical region. Our approach is to measure transitions between "circular" (maximum I and 1ml) states of hydrogen and deuterium Rydberg atoms with principal quantum numbers in the range n = 27 - 30. These transitions lie in the millimeter-wave regime, at 250 - 320 GH:G. We have measured the n = 27 --> n = 28 circular transitions with statistical uncertainties of approximately 1 x 10- 10-20 We have also determined how to account for frequency shifts due to the Stark and Zeeman effects. This thesis describes the methods and apparatus used to perform these measurements. A novel technique for analyzing the data obtained with a time-resolved Ramsey interference method is presented, and important sources of systematic error are analyzed.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

1998

Author dc:creator

• Holley, Jeffrey R

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Daniel Kleppner.

• Physics

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/9624

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/9624