Parity-nonconserving optical rotation on the 6s6p P-3(0)-> 6s6p(1)P(1) transition in atomic ytterbium - art. no. 052113

A new scheme to measure parity-nonconserving effects in atomic ytterbium is proposed. This method entails measuring parity-nonconserving optical rotat ion on the 1.28 mum 6s6p P-3(0)-->6s6p P-1(1) transition, for which optical rotation per unit absorption length is predicted to be an order of magnitu de larger than that for transitions experimentally studied in thallium, lea d, and bismuth. In the proposed experiment using a vapor cell tilled with b uffer gas, the lifetime of the lower metastable 6s6p P-3(0) state is limite d by collisional deexcitation. Atoms an excited to the lower metastable sta te by, e.g., short (similar to 10 ns) near-resonant light pulses and spurio us optical rotation is subtracted on a pulse by pulse basis. The potential sensitivity of this technique may enable precise measurements of electrowea k parameters.