Berlin 2014 – scientific programme
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A: Fachverband Atomphysik
A 14: Poster: Precision spectroscopy of atoms and ions (with Q)
A 14.23: Poster
Monday, March 17, 2014, 16:30–18:30, Spree-Palais
Decoherence-assisted spectroscopy of a single Mg+ ion — •Govinda Clos1, Martin Enderlein1, Ulrich Warring1, Dietrich Leibfried2, and Tobias Schaetz1 — 1Physikalisches Institut, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Hermann-Herder-Straße 3, 79104 Freiburg, Germany — 2National Institute of Standards and Technology, 325 Broadway, Boulder, Colorado 80305, USA
Quantum systems that are well isolated from their environments, in particular trapped atoms, offer a high level of control. Several spectroscopic methods have been devised especially for single trapped ions. High-resolution spectroscopy measurements with a precision of better than 10−8 are of interest for studying spatial and temporal fine structure variations of the universe. In such experiments, decoherence is typically considered as a source of error. However, here we present a novel and versatile spectroscopy method that is assisted by decoherence: Preparing a superposition of two ground states, the absorption of a single spectroscopy photon and the subsequent spontaneous emission destroy its coherence which can be detected by final state analysis. We experimentally demonstrate the method on trapped and laser-cooled 25Mg+ to measure one-, two-, and three-photon transitions from the ground state to the 3P, 3D, and 4P excited states which are relevant for astrophysical data analysis.