Two-photon spectroscopy of trapped HD+ ions in the Lamb-Dicke regime

We study the feasibility of nearly-degenerate two-photon rovibrational spectroscopy in ensembles of trapped, sympathetically cooled hydrogen molecular ions using a resonance-enhanced multiphoton dissociation (REMPD) scheme. Taking advantage of quasi-coincidences in the rovibrational spectrum, the excitation lasers are tuned close to an intermediate level to resonantly enhance two-photon absorption. Realistic simulations of the REMPD signal are obtained using a four-level model that takes into account saturation effects, ion trajectories, laser frequency noise and redistribution of population by blackbody radiation. We show that the use of counterpropagating laser beams enables optical excitation in an effective Lamb-Dicke regime. Sub-Doppler lines having widths in the 100 Hz range can be observed with good signal-to-noise ratio for an optimal choice of laser detunings. Our results indicate the feasibility of molecular spectroscopy at the $10^{-14}$ accuracy level for improved tests of molecular QED, a new determination of the proton-to-electron mass ratio, and studies of the time (in)dependence of the latter.

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Source https://hal.science/hal-00858308
Author Tran, Quang Vu, Karr, Jean-Philippe, Douillet, Albane, Hilico, Laurent, Koelemeij, J. C. J.
Maintainer CCSD
Last Updated May 9, 2026, 19:12 (UTC)
Created May 9, 2026, 19:12 (UTC)
Identifier hal-00858308
Language en
Rights https://about.hal.science/hal-authorisation-v1/
contributor Laboratoire Kastler Brossel (LKB (Jussieu)) ; Fédération de recherche du Département de physique de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure - ENS Paris (FRDPENS) ; École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL) ; Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL) ; Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
creator Tran, Quang Vu
date 2013-09-05T00:00:00
harvest_object_id 2acef4a3-3869-49be-a5f9-c6c2973dfa23
harvest_source_id 3374d638-d20b-4672-ba96-a23232d55657
harvest_source_title test moissonnage SELUNE
metadata_modified 2025-04-17T00:00:00
set_spec type:UNDEFINED