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PreprintCC BY 4.0arXiv

Two-photon Doppler-free spectroscopy of the 6s2 1S0 → 6s23s 1S0 Rydberg transition for quantum sensing in ytterbium

  • Benjamin D. Hunt
  • Kyle Beloy
  • Roger C. Brown
  • Tobias Bothwell
  • Harikesh Ranganath
  • Tanner Grogan
  • Jacob L. Siegel
  • Andrew Ludlow
Open at sourcePDFDOICite

Abstract

Here we report atomic structure calculations and experimental observations of the two-photon 6s2 1S0 → 6s23s 1S0 transition in Yb. The unique level structure of Yb places the 6s6p 1P1 state's energy at ≈ 49.7% of the ionization energy, which facilitates two-photon Doppler-free excitation of the 6s23s 1S0 Rydberg state from the 6s2 1S0 ground state at a relatively low optical intensity. This J= 0 → J=0 transition is immune to first-order Zeeman and electric quadrupole shifts, has reduced sensitivity to higher-order Zeeman shifts, and is further predicted to have relatively low sensitivity to density shifts. Using configuration interaction theory, we compute relevant properties of the 6s23s 1S0 Rydberg state for sensing, including the C6 coefficient, dc polarizability, blackbody radiation (BBR) shift, and BBR depopulation rate. As a first experimental step, we demonstrate two-photon Doppler-free spectroscopy of the 6s2 1S0 → 6s23s 1S0 transition. From our experimental spectra, we estimate the natural linewidth (lifetime) of the 6s23s 1S0 state to be 90 kHz (1.8 μs). We believe this transition, or other 6s2 1S0 → 6sns 1S0 transitions in Yb with n≈23, may find use in a variety of sensing applications, potentially including a two-photon clock, electrometer, or BBR thermometer.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@misc{hunt2026twophoton,
  title = {{Two-photon Doppler-free spectroscopy of the $6s^2\;^1S_0 \rightarrow 6s23s\;^1S_0$ Rydberg transition for quantum sensing in ytterbium}},
  author = {Benjamin D. Hunt and Kyle Beloy and Roger C. Brown and Tobias Bothwell and Harikesh Ranganath and Tanner Grogan and Jacob L. Siegel and Andrew Ludlow},
  howpublished = {arXiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.22574},
  eprint = {2610.22574},
  archivePrefix = {arXiv},
  url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.22574},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - UNPB
TI  - Two-photon Doppler-free spectroscopy of the 6s^2 ^1S_0 → 6s23s ^1S_0 Rydberg transition for quantum sensing in ytterbium
AU  - Benjamin D. Hunt
AU  - Kyle Beloy
AU  - Roger C. Brown
AU  - Tobias Bothwell
AU  - Harikesh Ranganath
AU  - Tanner Grogan
AU  - Jacob L. Siegel
AU  - Andrew Ludlow
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/15
PB  - arXiv
DO  - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.22574
UR  - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.22574
AB  - Here we report atomic structure calculations and experimental observations of the two-photon 6s^2 ^1S_0 → 6s23s ^1S_0 transition in Yb. The unique level structure of Yb places the 6s6p ^1P_1 state's energy at ≈ 49.7% of the ionization energy, which facilitates two-photon Doppler-free excitation of the 6s23s ^1S_0 Rydberg state from the 6s^2 ^1S_0 ground state at a relatively low optical intensity. This J= 0 → J=0 transition is immune to first-order Zeeman and electric quadrupole shifts, has reduced sensitivity to higher-order Zeeman shifts, and is further predicted to have relatively low sensitivity to density shifts. Using configuration interaction theory, we compute relevant properties of the 6s23s ^1S_0 Rydberg state for sensing, including the C_6 coefficient, dc polarizability, blackbody radiation (BBR) shift, and BBR depopulation rate. As a first experimental step, we demonstrate two-photon Doppler-free spectroscopy of the 6s^2 ^1S_0 → 6s23s ^1S_0 transition. From our experimental spectra, we estimate the natural linewidth (lifetime) of the 6s23s ^1S_0 state to be 90 kHz (1.8 μs). We believe this transition, or other 6s^2 ^1S_0 → 6sns ^1S_0 transitions in Yb with n≈23, may find use in a variety of sensing applications, potentially including a two-photon clock, electrometer, or BBR thermometer.
ER  -