Measurement of the 199Hg+ 5d96s2 2d5/2 Electric Quadrupole Moment and a Constraint on the Quadrupole Shift

Published

April 29, 2005

Author(s)

Windell Oskay, Wayne M. Itano, James C. Bergquist

Abstract

The electric quadrupole moment of the ¹⁹⁹Hg⁺ 5d⁹6s^22d5/2 state is measured to be (D, 5/2) = -2.98(8) × 10^-40 C m². The value was determined by measuring the frequency of the ¹⁹⁹Hg⁺ 5d¹⁰6s²S_1/2 – 5d⁹6s^22d5/2 optical clock transition for different applied electric field gradients. An isolated, mechanically stable optical cavity provides a frequency reference for the measurement. We compare the results with theoretical calculations and discuss the implications for the accuracy of an atomic clock based upon this transition. We now expect that the frequency shift caused by the interaction of the quadrupole moment with stray electric-field gradients will not be limit the accuracy of the Hg⁺ optical clock at the 10^-18 level.

Citation

Physical Review Letters

Volume

94

Issue

163001

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

ion, laser, optical standard

Citation

Oskay, W. , Itano, W. and Bergquist, J. (2005), Measurement of the ¹⁹⁹Hg⁺ 5d⁹6s² ^2d5/2 Electric Quadrupole Moment and a Constraint on the Quadrupole Shift, Physical Review Letters, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=30027 (Accessed October 11, 2025)