In this work, the 5P3/2 → 6P3/2 electric-dipole-forbidden transition in atomic rubidium at room temperature is studied in the presence of a magnetic field in the weak and strong field regimes. The experiment is performed in a rubidium cell with two external cavity diode lasers (ECDLs) in a counterpropagating configuration. A 780 nm laser at the D2 electric-dipole transition prepares atoms in the 5P3/2 state, and a 911 nm laser produces the 5P3/2 → 6P3/2 electric-quadrupole transition. Both beams are linearly polarized in the direction of the magnetic field. Detection of atoms in the 6P3/2 state is monitored by the 420 nm fluorescence decay (6P3/2 → 5S1/2) via current-modulated phase detection. The experimental geometry determines the electric-dipole (ΔMF = 0) and electric-quadrupole (ΔMF = ±1) hyperfine selection rules. Breit–Rabi diagrams of all involved states and their differences using these selection rules are presented. This allows for the identification of the resonant frequencies of the spectral lines as functions of the magnetic field in both the weak and the strong limits. Theoretical predictions agreed with the experimental data. Future work includes the calculation of line intensities via transition probabilities and a population equations model.
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Zeeman Effect in the Forbidden Transition 5P3/2 → 6P3/2 in Atomic Rubidium
Published:
27 January 2026
by MDPI
in The 1st International Online Conference on Atoms
session Atomic structure and spectra: Theory and experiment
Abstract:
Keywords: electric-quadrupole transition; Zeeman effect; rubidium; spectroscopy
