Spectroscopy of ultracold metastable hydrogen : in pursuit of a precision measurement

Abstract

This thesis describes the first observations in trapped hydrogen of optical transitions starting from the metastable 2S state. It covers in detail the design and construction of two stabilized diode laser systems for performing spectroscopy of the 2S-3P and 2S-8S transitions. Spectroscopy of the one photon 2S-3P transition in hydrogen is demonstrated both by the depletion of the metastable 2S atom state and the absorption of the 2S-3P laser light. A model for absorption spectroscopy as a probe for metastable number is developed and absorption is shown to offer a major improvement over current detection methods. In the course of these experiments, techniques with diode lasers were developed that will be used later in the proposed precision measurements of 2S-nS transitions. The design, construction and characterization of the diode laser system for performing spectroscopy of the two photon 2S-8S transition is explained and recommended parameters for a proposed signal search are outlined.