Mainz 2026 – scientific programme
Parts | Days | Selection | Search | Updates | Downloads | Help
Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik
Q 27: Poster – Precision Spectroscopy of Atoms and Ions (joint session A/Q)
Q 27.26: Poster
Tuesday, March 3, 2026, 17:00–19:00, Philo 1. OG
High-resolution spectroscopy of 173Yb+ ions — Jian Jiang1, •Anna Viatkina1,2, Saaswath JK1, Martin Steinel1, Melina Filzinger1, Ekkehard Peik1, Sergey Porsev3, Marianna Safronova3, Andrey Surzhykov1,2, and Nils Huntemann1 — 1Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, 38116 Braunschweig, Germany — 2Technische Universität Braunschweig, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany — 3University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA
173Yb+ is a promising candidate for optical clocks, new physics searches, and quantum computing. However, to date, the electronic spectrum of 173Yb+ remains poorly characterized due to its complexity.
Here, we report on efficient laser cooling, state preparation, and detection of a single trapped 173Yb+ ion. The previously unobserved 2S1/2 → 2D3/2 electric quadrupole transition at 436 nm is coherently excited, and the isotope shift between 171Yb+ and 173Yb+ on this transition is determined with an uncertainty of 1.4 Hz. Using microwave spectroscopy, we resolve the hyperfine structure (HFS) of the 2D3/2 state with a relative uncertainty below 10−8.
Combining the HFS measurement data and our atomic structure calculations, we infer for 173Yb a nuclear magnetic octupole moment Ω = −0.062(8) (b × µN) with uncertainty reduced by more than two orders of magnitude compared to previous studies and determine hyperfine anomalies for the 2S1/2 and 2D3/2 states. These findings provide further information on the nuclear deformation and nuclear magnetization distribution of ytterbium.
Keywords: High-resolution spectroscopy; Atomic structure calculation; Nuclear magnetic octupole moment; Hyperfine anomaly; Optical clock