Cold molecule spectroscopy for constraining the evolution of the fine structure constant.
We report precise measurements of ground-state, Lambda-doublet microwave transitions in the hydroxyl radical molecule (OH). Utilizing slow, cold molecules produced by a Stark decelerator we have improved over the precision of the previous best measurement 25-fold for the F'=2-->F=2 transition, yielding (1 667 358 996 +/- 4)Hz, and by tenfold for the F'=1-->F=1 transition, yielding (1 665 401 803 +/-12)Hz. Comparing these laboratory frequencies to those from OH megamasers in interstellar space will allow a sensitivity of 1 ppm for Delta(alpha/alpha) over approximately 10(10) yr.
Hudson
Eric R
ER
JILA, National Institute of Standards and Technology and University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0440, USA. ehudson@jilau1.colorado.edu
Lewandowski
H J
HJ
Sawyer
Brian C
BC
Ye
Jun
J