RUI: Precision Spectroscopy of High-Lying States of Atomic Lithium

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With the recent advances in atomic structure calculations and experimental techniques, atomic lithium has emerged as a promising system for exploring atomic and nuclear structure at new levels of sensitivity. The relatively simple atomic structure of lithium provides an experimentally accessible system that can be calculated at a high level of accuracy. This project provides a comprehensive investigation of the atomic structure of lithium utilizing an optical frequency comb. The development of optical frequency combs has made it possible to effectively count the optical cycles of light, resulting in absolute optical-frequency calibration. In addition to its optical-frequency measurement capabilities, frequency combs provide a powerful source for direct excitation of atomic transitions. The intellectual merit of this work is to provide significant improvement in the knowledge of the structure of atomic lithium and to further expand and develop techniques of precision spectroscopy by use of optical frequency combs. The broader impact of this work is the development of an undergraduate research program that will provide students with the opportunity to perform cutting-edge research. The experiments are carried out at Oberlin College, a four-year liberal arts college that has a history of diversity and integration of teaching and research, and are performed solely by undergraduate students and the principal investigator. As a result, the work serves a dual role of advancing scientific discovery while training and teaching undergraduate students. The nature of the work complements the teaching responsibilities of the principle investigator and allows the integration of research into the classroom and teaching laboratories.