Precision laser spectroscopy of Li+ and neutral lithium

Abstract

Lithium has a number of properties that make it useful for both experimental and theoretical study. Precise spectroscopic measurements of optical transitions in both Li+ and neutral Li are reviewed. Experiments have yielded hyperfine and fine structure splittings that test QED as well as isotope shifts that determine the relative nuclear charge radius between isotopes to an accuracy of 2 × 10-17 m. Experimental and theoretical results agree very well for Li+ and a measurement of the fine structure of the 1s2p 3P0,1,2 levels is of interest to determine the fine structure constant. For neutral lithium, additional theoretical work is needed to match the experimental accuracy for the 2P fine structure splitting. © 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.