Physics Commons^™

Quantum Defect Measurements For High Angular Momentum Rydberg States Of Potassium, Abraham Hill

Honors Theses

We report measurements of the quantum defect for the f-, g-, and h-states of potassium with principal quantum number n between 26 and 29. Ground state potassium atoms in a magneto-optical trap are excited from the 4s state to the 5p state, then from the 5p state to the nd_j state using lasers at 405nm and 980nm, respectively. We then measure the millimeter wave frequencies of the nd_j to nl transitions. We extract the quantum defects from these frequency measurements in conjunction with the known d-state quantum defects. Experimental challenges with …