(51) Using Doppler-Free Spectroscopy to Probe Hyperfine Transitions in Rubidium Gas

     Temporal and spatial precision is increasingly important for global positioning systems, communications, nanotechnology, and many other areas. Spectroscopy is used not only to better understand the structure of atoms... [ view full abstract ]

     Temporal and spatial precision is increasingly important for global positioning systems, communications, nanotechnology, and many other areas. Spectroscopy is used not only to better understand the structure of atoms and molecules, but also to create metrology standards for time and space. For example, the second is defined with atomic clocks via the 9,192,631,770 Hz hyperfine transition frequency of cesium atoms. I present my direct observations of the hyperfine transitions in rubidium vapor obtained by means of Saturated Absorption Spectroscopy (SAS) -- effectively using a 384,000 GHz laser to probe transition features as narrow as 0.01 GHz. Furthermore, I have modified the SAS setup to show the effects of a magnetic field on polarized light, thus drawing a direct connection between optical light and electromagnetic fields.