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Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 143004 (2006) [4 pages]

Cold Molecule Spectroscopy for Constraining the Evolution of the Fine Structure Constant

Eric R. Hudson, H. J. Lewandowski, Brian C. Sawyer, and Jun Ye
JILA, National Institute of Standards and Technology and University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0440, USA and Department of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0440, USA
Received 9 January 2006; published 14 April 2006

We report precise measurements of ground-state, Lambda-doublet microwave transitions in the hydroxyl radical molecule (OH). Utilizing slow, cold molecules produced by a Stark decelerator we have improved over the precision of the previous best measurement 25-fold for the F[prime]=2-->F=2 transition, yielding (1 667 358 996±4) Hz, and by tenfold for the F[prime]=1-->F=1 transition, yielding (1 665 401 803±12) Hz. Comparing these laboratory frequencies to those from OH megamasers in interstellar space will allow a sensitivity of 1 ppm for Deltaalpha/alpha over ~1010 yr.

©2006 The American Physical Society

URL: http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.96.143004
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.96.143004
PACS: 33.20.Bx; 33.15.Pw; 33.55.Be; 39.10.+j
  • 33.20.Bx
    Radio-frequency and microwave molecular spectra
  • 33.15.Pw
    Molecular fine and hyperfine structure
  • 33.55.Be
    Zeeman and Stark effects (molecules)
  • 39.10.+j
    Atomic and molecular beam sources and techniques
  • YEAR: 2006
KEYWORDS: oxygen compounds, free radicals, fine structure, ground states, microwave spectra, Stark effect, interstellar molecules, astronomical masers

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