Magnetic Dipolar Interaction between Hyperfine Clock States in a Planar Alkali Bose Gas.

Abstract

In atomic systems, clock states feature a zero projection of the total angular momentum and thus a low sensitivity to magnetic fields. This makes them widely used for metrological applications like atomic fountains or gravimeters. Here, we show that a mixture of two such nonmagnetic states still displays magnetic dipole-dipole interactions comparable to the one expected for the other Zeeman states of the same atomic species. Using high-resolution spectroscopy of a planar gas of ^{87}Rb atoms with a controlled in plane shape, we explore the effective isotropic and extensive character of these interactions and demonstrate their tunability. Our measurements set strong constraints on the relative values of the s-wave scattering lengths a_{ij} involving the two clock states.