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Updated: May 30, 2026

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Published on: December 13, 2016
Measurement of linear stark interference in 199Hg
T H Loftus1, M D Swallows, W C Griffith
1Department of Physics, Box 351560, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-1560, USA.
Abstract:
We present measurements of Stark interference in the (61)S(0)→6(3)P(1) transition in (199)Hg, a process whereby a static electric field E mixes magnetic dipole and electric quadrupole couplings into an electric dipole transition, leading to E-linear energy shifts similar to those produced by a permanent atomic electric dipole moment (EDM). The measured interference amplitude, a(SI) = (a(M1) + a(E2)) = (5.8 ± 1.5) × 10(-9) (kV / cm)(-1), agrees with relativistic, many-body predictions and confirms that earlier central-field estimates are a factor of 10 too large. More importantly, this study validates the capability of the (199)Hg EDM search apparatus to resolve nontrivial, controlled, and sub-nHz Larmor frequency shifts with EDM-like characteristics.
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