Trapping of Neutral Mercury Atoms and Prospects for Optical Lattice Clocks

TLDR

Highly accurate Hg‑based clocks open a new avenue for optical lattice clock research and probing the fine‑structure constant. The study proposes an Hg‑based optical lattice clock with systematic accuracy better than 10⁻¹⁸. The clock employs Hg atoms in an optical lattice, with systematic accuracy evaluated to be below 10⁻¹⁸. Vapor‑cell magneto‑optical trapping of six Hg isotopes, including four bosons and two fermions, demonstrates Hg as the heaviest nonradioactive atom trapped, enabling sensitive searches for physics beyond the standard model.

Abstract

We report vapor-cell magneto-optical trapping of Hg isotopes on the (1)S(0)-(3)P(1) intercombination transition. Six abundant isotopes, including four bosons and two fermions, were trapped. Hg is the heaviest nonradioactive atom trapped so far, which enables sensitive atomic searches for "new physics" beyond the standard model. We propose an accurate optical lattice clock based on Hg and evaluate its systematic accuracy to be better than 10;{-18}. Highly accurate and stable Hg-based clocks will provide a new avenue for the research of optical lattice clocks and the time variation of the fine-structure constant.