Temperature dependence of Doppler-broadening in rubidium: An undergraduate experiment

Abstract

This paper describes experiments performed by undergraduate physics majors to measure the temperature dependence of Doppler-broadening in Rb absorption lines over the interval 290–500 K. We report measurements made with a laser-diode spectrometer on the resolved hyperfine transitions of Rb87 (5 2S1/2 F=1 to 5 2P1/2, F=1 and 2) near 795 nm, and on the unresolved envelope of the transitions of Rb85 (5 2S1/2 F=2 to 5 2P3/2, F=1, 2 and 3) near 780 nm. Agreement between measured and predicted linewidths is very good.