AI Article Synopsis
- Researchers studied the transitions of lithium ion states (^6Li^{+}) using an advanced optical technique, achieving high precision hyperfine splitting values with uncertainties around 10 kHz.
- Their results significantly improved the accuracy of previous measurements, cutting uncertainties by factors of 5 and 50 for different states, aligning better with theoretical predictions.
- The improved Zemach radius of the ^6Li nucleus was determined to be 2.44(2) fm, challenging prior estimates and highlighting the need for refined nuclear physics measurements.
Article Abstract
We investigate the 2^{3}S_{1}-2^{3}P_{J} (J=0, 1, 2) transitions in ^{6}Li^{+} using the optical Ramsey technique and achieve the most precise values of the hyperfine splittings of the 2^{3}S_{1} and 2^{3}P_{J} states, with smallest uncertainty of about 10 kHz. The present results reduce the uncertainties of previous experiments by a factor of 5 for the 2^{3}S_{1} state and a factor of 50 for the 2^{3}P_{J} states, and are in better agreement with theoretical values. Combining our measured hyperfine intervals of the 2^{3}S_{1} state with the latest quantum electrodynamic (QED) calculations, the improved Zemach radius of the ^{6}Li nucleus is determined to be 2.44(2) fm, with the uncertainty entirely due to the uncalculated QED effects of order mα^{7}. The result is in sharp disagreement with the value 3.71(16) fm determined from simple models of the nuclear charge and magnetization distribution. We call for a more definitive nuclear physics value of the ^{6}Li Zemach radius.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.131.103002 | DOI Listing |
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