Abstract
Spin-polarized metastable atoms of ultracold ytterbium are trapped at high density and their inelastic collisional properties are measured. We reveal that in collisions of Yb(3P2) with Yb(1S0) there is relatively weak inelastic loss, but with a significant spin-dependence consistent with Zeeman sublevel changes as being the dominant decay process. This is in strong contrast to our observations of Yb(3P2)-Yb(3P2) collisional loss, which are, at low field, much more rapid and have essentially no spin dependence. Our results give a guideline to use the 3P2 states in many possible applications.
Highlights
Atoms with alkaline-earth-metal-like electronic structure are under extensive study, partly due to their promise for a number of key applications
The ultranarrow 1S0–3P0 atomic resonance in a “magic wavelength” optical lattice may be highly competitive as a new optical frequency standard [6]
The pioneering work on collisional deexcitation of the metastable P state in atomic Yb [12] is a good example as it is the key for the successful parity violation experiment [11]
Summary
Atoms with alkaline-earth-metal-like electronic structure are under extensive study, partly due to their promise for a number of key applications. Recent studies with metastable alkaline-earth-metal-like structure atoms showed inelastic collision rates as high as 10−17 to 10−16 m3/s in 3PJ –3PJ collisions in Yb [14] and Sr [15,16] atoms. We observe strong spin dependence in the inelastic rates for Yb(3P2) in the 1S0–3P2 collisional system, with higher energy Zeeman sublevels having higher inelastic rates This strongly suggests that the inelastic loss is dominated by Zeeman sublevel changing processes (m-changing collisions). In the 3P2–3P2 collisions we observe a much higher inelastic rate that is spin independent This is consistent with fine structure changing processes (J changing collisions) or principal quantum number changing (PQNC) processes. Our results represent a detailed study of 3P2 physics; they provide a road map for the use of the important 3P2 state and challenge theorists to provide a quantitative explanation of this anisotropic collision physics
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