Hyperfine quenching of the metastable $^3P_{0,2}$ states in divalent atoms

Abstract

Hyperfine quenching rates of the lowest-energy metastable $^3P_0$ and $^3P_2$ states of Mg, Ca, Sr, and Yb atoms are computed. The calculations are carried out using ab initio relativistic many-body methods. The computed lifetimes may be useful for designing novel ultra-precise optical clocks and trapping experiments with the $3P_2$ fermionic isotopes. The resulting natural widths of the $^3P_0 -> ^1S_0$ clock transition are 0.44 mHz for $^{25}$Mg, 2.2 mHz for $^{43}$Ca, 7.6 mHz for $^{87}$Sr, 43.5 mHz for $^{171}$Yb, and 38.5 mHz for $^{173}$Yb. Compared to the bosonic isotopes, the lifetime of the $3P_2$ states in fermionic isotopes is noticeably shortened by the hyperfine quenching but still remains long enough for trapping experiments.