High-precision measurement of hyperfine structure in the $D$ lines of alkali atoms

Abstract

We have measured hyperfine structure in the first-excited $P$ state ($D$ lines) of all the naturally-occurring alkali atoms. We use high-resolution laser spectroscopy to resolve hyperfine transitions, and measure intervals by locking the frequency shift produced by an acousto-optic modulator to the difference between two transitions. In most cases, the hyperfine coupling constants derived from our measurements improve previous values significantly.