Investigations of the possible second-stage laser cooling transitions for the holmium atom magneto-optical trap

Abstract

In this work laser-spectroscopic investigations of selected electronic levels in the holmium atom are performed in the context of possible second-stage laser cooling transitions which can be considered in a magneto-optical trap. Five transitions were directly recorded by the method of laser induced fluorescence in a hollow cathode discharge. The hyperfine structure constants A and B for the upper even-parity J=17/2 levels, evaluated in earlier works, were generally confirmed, and their accuracy was improved; thus the frequency differences between the hyperfine structure components, relevant for the possibility of application of the hyperfine repumping, could be determined. Investigations of the Zeeman-hyperfine structure of these spectral lines were performed in order to evaluate the Landé gJ factors of the upper levels; these were reported for the first time. Semi-empirical preliminary calculations of the lifetimes of the even-parity levels in question were also carried out, allowing estimation of the expected Doppler limits for the possible narrow-band laser cooling at the respective transitions. The degree of similarity between the gJ factors of the upper levels of the cooling transitions and the ground state is important for the efficiency of the sub-Doppler laser cooling in a magneto-optical trap. The results presented might facilitate the choice of the most favorable option of obtaining narrow-band laser cooling of the holmium atoms.