Vibrational Spectroscopy of HD{sup +} with 2-ppb Accuracy
- Institute for Experimental Physics, Heinrich-Heine-Universitaet Duesseldorf (Germany)
By measurement of the frequency of a vibrational overtone transition in the molecular hydrogen ion HD{sup +}, we demonstrate the first optical spectroscopy of trapped molecular ions with submegahertz accuracy. We use a diode laser, locked to a stable frequency comb, to perform resonance-enhanced multiphoton dissociation spectroscopy on sympathetically cooled HD{sup +} ions at 50 mK. The achieved 2-ppb relative accuracy is a factor of 150 higher than previous results for HD{sup +}, and the measured transition frequency agrees well with recent high-accuracy ab initio calculations, which include high-order quantum electrodynamic effects. We also show that our method bears potential for achieving considerably higher accuracy and may, if combined with slightly improved theoretical calculations, lead to a new and improved determination of the electron-proton mass ratio.
- OSTI ID:
- 20951274
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review Letters, Vol. 98, Issue 17; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.98.173002; (c) 2007 The American Physical Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0031-9007
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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