Diode Laser Spectroscopy

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This project will enhance the education of Centre's physics majors in the related areas of lasers, atomic spectroscopy and modern optics. Students and faculty are fabricating a laser spectrometer and using it to study some details of the atomic structure of rubidium and possibly cesium. Many of the system components (mirrors, detectors, diode lasers, a digital oscilloscope system) were purchased. For pedagogical purposes, however, undergraduates construct and test the laser controller and detector circuits. We are using the system in upper- divisional courses in modern physics, optics, and quantum mechanics. Special student projects and research are conducted in two areas: computer enhancement of laser spectra, and the effect of an external magnetic field on atomic spectra (Zeeman Effect).Our undergraduates gain experience in fabricating and using rather sophisticated optical, laser and electronic systems. Students observe several important physical phenomena in atomic spectra: line broadening due to thermal motion of gaseous atoms (Doppler effect), Zeeman splitting, isotopic effects (85Rb, 87Rb), and nuclear hyperfine effects (interaction of electrons with nuclear spin, or magnetic dipole effect, and effects caused by the finite size of the nuclear charge, or nuclear quadrupole effect). Finally, it is expected that this project will better prepare and motivate our physics students for graduate study.