Properties of the ground [superscript 3]F[subscript 2] state and the excited [superscript 3]P[subscript 0] state of atomic thorium in cold collisions with [superscript 3]He
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PhysRevA.90.032702.pdf
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Author(s)
Au, Yat Shan
Connolly, Colin B.
Ketterle, Wolfgang
Doyle, John M.
Date Issued
September 2014
Journal
Physical Review A
Publisher
American Physical Society
Citation
Au, Yat Shan, Colin B. Connolly, Wolfgang Ketterle, and John M. Doyle. "Properties of the ground [superscript 3]F[subscript 2] state and the excited [superscript 3]P[subscript 0] state of atomic thorium in cold collisions with [superscript 3]He." Phys. Rev. A 90, 032702 (September 2014). © 2014 American Physical Society
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Final published version
Abstract
Inelastic cross sections for collisions between thorium (Th) and helium ([superscript 3]He) are measured. For Th[[superscript 3]F[subscript 2]]–[superscript 3]He, we determine the ratio of momentum transfer to Zeeman relaxation cross sections to be γ ∼ 500 at 800 mK. For Th[[superscript 3]P[subscript 0]]–[superscript 3]He, we find no quenching of this metastable state during 10[superscript 6] collisions. We measure the radiative lifetime of Th[[superscript 3]P[subscript 0]] to be τ > 130 ms. The observed stability of Th[[superscript 3]P[subscript 0]] opens up the possibility of trapping this metastable species.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics
MIT-Harvard Center for Ultracold Atoms
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.90.032702
