Determination of the Rydberg constant by direct frequency measurement

Author

Nez, F. ; Plimmer, M.D. ; Bourzeix, S. ; Julien, L. ; Biraben, F. ; Felder, R. ; Millerioux, Y. ; De Natale, P.

Author_Institution

Lab. de l´´Ecole Normale Superieure, Univ. Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France

Volume

44

Issue

2

fYear

1995

fDate

4/1/1995 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

568

Lastpage

571

Abstract

We have built a frequency chain to connect the frequencies of the 2S-8S/D two-photon transitions in hydrogen to two optical standards, the methane-stabilized He-Ne laser and the iodine-stabilized He-Ne laser. In this way, an optical frequency of atomic hydrogen is directly linked for the first time to the cesium clock without any interferometry. We deduce a new value for the Rydberg constant with an uncertainty of 2.2 parts in 10¹¹. This value is in very good agreement with published values. The same frequency scheme has been used to measure the frequencies of the 5S-5D two-photon transition in rubidium and 2³S₁-3³P₀ in helium

Keywords

Rydberg states; atomic clocks; caesium; constants; frequency measurement; helium neutral atoms; hydrogen neutral atoms; laser beam applications; measurement standards; rubidium; 2³S₁-3³P₀; 2S-8S/D two-photon transitions; 5S-5D two-photon transition; Cs; Cs clock; H; He; He-Ne; He-Ne:I₂; I₂ stabilized He-Ne laser; Rb; Rydberg constant; direct frequency measurement; frequency chain; methane-stabilized He-Ne laser; optical frequency; optical standards; Atom lasers; Atom optics; Atomic beams; Atomic measurements; Frequency measurement; Helium; Hydrogen; Laser transitions; Measurement standards; Optical interferometry;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Instrumentation and Measurement, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9456

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/19.377909

Filename

377909