We present precision measurements with MHz uncertainty of the energy gap between asymptotic and well bound levels in the electronic ground state X 1 Σ + g of the 39 K2 molecule. The molecules are prepared in a highly collimated particle beam and are interrogated in a Λ-type excitation scheme of optical transitions to long range levels close to the asymptote of the ground state, using the electronically excited state A 1 Σ + u as intermediate one. The transition frequencies are measured either by comparison with I2 lines or by absolute measurements using a fs-frequency comb. The determined level energies were used together with Feshbach resonances from cold collisions of 39 K and 40 K reported from other authors to fit new ground state potentials. Precise scattering lengths are determined and tests of the validity of the Born-Oppenheimer approximation for the description of cold collisions at this level of precision are performed.

We load 10 5 magnesium atoms in a dipole trap from a millikelvin-hot magneto-optical trap (MOT) using a continuous-loading scheme. Light-assisted two-body processes limit the maximum achievable density in a MOT, resulting in a reduced transfer efficiency into a dipole trap when using the conventional sequential scheme. It is overcome in a continuous-loading scheme where a loss channel is opened in the MOT. This allows the accumulation of atoms in the dipole trap over the trap lifetime, determined by collisions with the background gas. This results in a significantly higher number of trapped atoms even at a lower steady-state peak density in the MOT.

Absolute frequency measurement of the magnesium intercombination transition 1 S 0 We report on a frequency measurement of the (3s 2 ) 1 S0 → (3s3p) 3 P1 clock transition of 24 Mg on a thermal atomic beam. The intercombination transition has been referenced to a portable primary Cs frequency standard with the help of a femtosecond fiber laser frequency comb. The achieved uncertainty is 2.5 × 10 −12 which corresponds to an increase in accuracy of six orders of magnitude compared to previous results. The measured frequency value permits the calculation of several other optical transitions from 1 S0 to the 3 PJ -level system for 24 Mg, 25 Mg and 26 Mg. We describe in detail the components of our optical frequency standard like the stabilized spectroscopy laser, the atomic beam apparatus used for Ramsey-Bordé interferometry and the frequency comb generator and discuss the uncertainty contributions to our measurement including the first and second order Doppler effect. An upper limit of 3 × 10 −13 in one second for the short term instability of our optical frequency standard was determined by comparison with a GPS disciplined quartz oscillator.

We determine the frequency of the Yb I 1 S0 − 1 P1 transition at 399 nm using an optical frequency comb. Although this transition was measured previously using an optical transfer cavity [D. Das et al., Phys. Rev. A 72, 032506 (2005)], recent work has uncovered significant errors in that method. We compare our result of 751 526 533.49 ± 0.33 MHz for the Yb-174 isotope with those from the literature and discuss observed differences. We verify the correctness of our method by measuring the frequencies of well-known transitions in Rb and Cs, and by demonstrating proper control of systematic errors in both laser metrology and atomic spectroscopy. We also demonstrate the effect of quantum interference due to hyperfine structure in a divalent atomic system and present isotope shift measurements for all stable isotopes.

Temperatures below the Doppler limit of 1.9 mK have been observed in magnesium. The strong cooling transition was modified by a coherent two-color excitation exploiting the longer lifetime of an upper level. We developed a theoretical model to describe the light forces and cooling originating from the induced quantum interference in a three-level system. Time-of-flight measurements verified temperatures of 500 K in a onedimensional ͑1D͒ molasses in accordance with our theoretical model. By implementing this scheme in a 3D magneto-optical trap with a single ir beam, temperatures as low as 1 mK could be realized. For ideal conditions we extrapolate to temperatures of 50 K. With cooling times of about 1 ms, a fast and efficient cooling scheme was realized, particularly attractive for optical frequency standards.