Abstract

We report a precise determination of the lifetime of the (4p) P-2(3/2) state of Ca-40(+), tau(p3/2) = 6.639(42) ns, using a combination of measurements of the induced light shift and scattering rate on a single trapped ion. Good agreement with the result of a recent high-level theoretical calculation, 6.69(6) ns [M. S. Safronova et al., Phys. A 83, 012503 (2011)], but a 6-sigma discrepancy with the most precise previous experimental value, 6.924(19) ns [J. Jin et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 70, 3213 (1993)], is found. To corroborate the consistency and accuracy of the new measurements, relativistically corrected ratios of reduced-dipole-matrix elements are used to directly compare our result with a recent result for the P-1/2 state, yielding a good agreement. The application of the present method to precise determinations of radiative quantities of molecular systems is discussed.

Publication Details
Publication Type
Journal Article
Year of Publication
2020
Volume
101
DOI
10.1103/PhysRevA.101.012509
Journal
Physical Review A
Contributors
Groups