Magnetic octupole moment of 173Yb using collinear laser spectroscopy

The hyperfine constants of the 4f (14)6s6p P-3(2)o state in neutral Yb have been measured using three different dipole transitions. This state was recently shown to have a comparatively large hyperfine magnetic octupole splitting, and thus a puzzlingly large magnetic octupole moment. The measurement is performed using collinear laser spectroscopy on a fast atomic beam, which provides a straightforward route to probing long-lived metastable atomic states with high resolution. From the combined analysis of all three lines we find no significant evidence for a nonzero octupole moment in Yb-173.

Automated summary

The hyperfine constants of a specific state in neutral Yb were measured using three different dipole transitions, showing no evidence of a nonzero octupole moment in Yb-173.