{"id":{"repo_id":"mit","oai_identifier":"oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/8292"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/mit/oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/8292","repository":{"repo_id":"mit","name":"MIT","base_url":"https://dspace.mit.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"A precision millimeter-wave measurement of the Rydberg frequency","abstract":"The Rydberg frequency, cR[infinity], sets the frequency scale for the spectrum of hydrogen atoms. From a frequency measurement of one transition in hydrogen, cR[infinity] can be extracted and the frequency of any other transition can be predicted, given that the reduced-mass, relativistic, QED, and proton structure corrections can be computed to the desired accuracy. Recent advances in optical frequency techniques applied to transitions involving low-lying states of hydrogen have decreased the uncertainty in cR[infinity], to 7.6 x 10⁻¹². This thesis presents our measurement of cR[infinity] using millimeter-wave transitions between high-lying \"circular Rydberg\" states of atomic hydrogen with a principle quantum number, n, between 27 and 30. This measurement provides an independent check, in a different regime, of the optical measurements. Our measurement, cR[infinity] = 3 289 841 960 306(69) kHz with an uncertainty of 2.1 x 10⁻¹¹, is consistent with the CODATA 98 recommended value.","abstract_html":"The Rydberg frequency, cR[infinity], sets the frequency scale for the spectrum of hydrogen atoms. From a frequency measurement of one transition in hydrogen, cR[infinity] can be extracted and the frequency of any other transition can be predicted, given that the reduced-mass, relativistic, QED, and proton structure corrections can be computed to the desired accuracy. Recent advances in optical frequency techniques applied to transitions involving low-lying states of hydrogen have decreased the uncertainty in cR[infinity], to 7.6 x 10⁻¹². This thesis presents our measurement of cR[infinity] using millimeter-wave transitions between high-lying "circular Rydberg" states of atomic hydrogen with a principle quantum number, n, between 27 and 30. This measurement provides an independent check, in a different regime, of the optical measurements. Our measurement, cR[infinity] = 3 289 841 960 306(69) kHz with an uncertainty of 2.1 x 10⁻¹¹, is consistent with the CODATA 98 recommended value.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["De Vries, Joel Christopher, 1971-"],"institution":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Physics.","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Daniel Kleppner."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2002,"date_issued":"2002","date_published":"2002","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:21:10Z","subjects":["Physics."],"languages":["eng"],"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."],"rights_urls":["http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/8292","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Daniel Kleppner."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 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From a frequency measurement of one transition in hydrogen, cR[infinity] can be extracted and the frequency of any other transition can be predicted, given that the reduced-mass, relativistic, QED, and proton structure corrections can be computed to the desired accuracy. Recent advances in optical frequency techniques applied to transitions involving low-lying states of hydrogen have decreased the uncertainty in cR[infinity], to 7.6 x 10⁻¹². This thesis presents our measurement of cR[infinity] using millimeter-wave transitions between high-lying \"circular Rydberg\" states of atomic hydrogen with a principle quantum number, n, between 27 and 30. This measurement provides an independent check, in a different regime, of the optical measurements. Our measurement, cR[infinity] = 3 289 841 960 306(69) kHz with an uncertainty of 2.1 x 10⁻¹¹, is consistent with the CODATA 98 recommended value."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Ph.D."]},{"key":"dc:format.mimetype","label":"Dc Format Mimetype","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["A precision millimeter-wave measurement of the Rydberg frequency"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Daniel Kleppner."],"dc:contributor.department":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Physics."],"dc:contributor.other":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Physics."],"dc:creator":["De Vries, Joel Christopher, 1971-"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2005-08-23T18:56:37Z"],"dc:date.available":["2005-08-23T18:56:37Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2002"],"dc:description":["Thesis (Ph. 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This measurement provides an independent check, in a different regime, of the optical measurements. Our measurement, cR[infinity] = 3 289 841 960 306(69) kHz with an uncertainty of 2.1 x 10⁻¹¹, is consistent with the CODATA 98 recommended value."],"dc:description.degree":["Ph.D."],"dc:format.mimetype":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/8292"],"dc:language.iso":["eng"],"dc:publisher":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology"],"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."],"dc:rights.uri":["http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582"],"dc:subject":["Physics."],"dc:title":["A precision millimeter-wave measurement of the Rydberg frequency"],"dc:type":["Thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:21:10Z"}