Variational calculations of the Fermi contact term for the 2 2S, 2 2P, and 3 2S states of Li and the 2 2S state of Be+

Precise measurement of hyperfine structure in the 3S1/2 state of 7Li

We report a precise measurement of hyperfine structure in the 3S_1/2 state of the odd isotope of Li, namely ⁷Li. The state is excited from the ground 2S_1/2 state (which has the same parity) using two single-photon transitions via the intermediate 2P_3/2 state. The value of the hyperfine constant we measure is A = 93.095(52) MHz, which resolves two discrepant values reported in the literature measured using other techniques. Our value is also consistent with theoretical calculations.

Ground state hyperfine splitting in 6,7Li atoms and the nuclear structure

Relativistic and QED corrections are calculated for a hyperfine splitting of the 2S1/2 ground state in 6,7Li atoms with a numerically exact account for electronic correlations. The resulting theoretical predictions achieve such a precision level that, by comparison with experimental values, they enable determination of the nuclear properties. In particular, the obtained results show that the 7Li nucleus, having a charge radius smaller than 6Li, has about a 40% larger Zemach radius. Together with known differences in the electric quadrupole and magnetic dipole moments, this calls for a deeper understanding of the Li nuclear structure.

Precision measurement of the hyperfine structure of laser-cooled radioactive 7Be+ ions produced by projectile fragmentation

The ground state hyperfine splitting of (7)Be+ has been measured by laser-microwave double-resonance spectroscopy in the online rf trap of RIKEN's slow RI-beam facility. Be ions produced by projectile fragmentation of 13C at approximately 1 GeV were thermalized in a rf ion guide gas cell and subsequently laser cooled in the ion trap to approximately 1 microeV. This 10(15)-fold reduction of the kinetic energy allows precision spectroscopy of these ions. A magnetic hfs constant of A=-742.772 28(43) MHz was measured for 7Be+, from which a nuclear magnetic moment of mu(I)=-1.399 28(2)mu(N) was deduced.

Nuclear charge radii of 8,9Li determined by laser spectroscopy

The 2s-->3s transition of (6,7,8,9)Li was studied by high-resolution laser spectroscopy using two-photon Doppler-free excitation and resonance-ionization detection. Hyperfine structure splittings and isotope shifts were determined with precision at the 100 kHz level. Combined with recent theoretical work, the changes in the nuclear-charge radii of (8,9)Li were determined. These are now the lightest short-lived isotopes for which the charge radii have been measured. It is found that the charge radii monotonically decrease with increasing neutron number from 6Li to 9Li.

Hyperfine splitting, isotope shift, and level energy of the 3S states of (6,7)Li

We study the 2S-3S transition of (6,7)Li by high-precision laser spectroscopy using two-photon Doppler-free excitation and photoionization detection. Interferometric cross referencing to metrologic Rb 3S-5D two-photon transitions allowed measurement of the transition isotope shift and hyperfine splitting in the 3S state with precision at the 30 kHz level. The results are IS=11 453.734(30) MHz, A(3S)(6Li)=35.263(15) MHz, and A(3S)(7Li)=93.106(11) MHz. Combined with recent theoretical work, the isotope shift yields a new value for the change in squared nuclear charge radii DeltaR(2)=0.47(5) fm(2). This is compared with other work and some existing discrepancies are resolved.