Precision spectroscopy of 2S–nP transitions in atomic hydrogen for a new determination of the Rydberg constant and the proton charge radius

Abstract

Precision measurements of transition frequencies in atomic hydrogen provide important input for a number of fundamental applications, such as stringent tests of QED and the extraction of fundamental constants. Here we report on precision spectroscopy of the 2S–4P transition in atomic hydrogen with a reproducibility of a few parts in 1012. Utilizing a cryogenic beam of hydrogen atoms in the metastable 2S state reduces leading order systematic effects of previous experiments of this kind. A number of different systematic effects, especially line shape modifications due to quantum interference in spontaneous emission, are currently under investigation. Once fully characterized, our measurement procedure can be applied to higher lying 2S–nP transitions () and we hope to contribute to an improved determination of the Rydberg constant and the proton root mean square charge radius by this series of experiments. Ultimately, this improved determination will give deeper insight into ‘the proton size puzzle’ from the electronic hydrogen side.