High-precision spectroscopy of the forbidden 2 3S1 - 2 1P1 transition in quantum degenerate metastable helium

Abstract: We have measured the forbidden 2 3S1 - 2 1P1 transition at 887 nm in a quantum degenerate gas of metastable He-4 atoms confined in an optical dipole trap. The determined transition frequency is 338 133 594.4 (0.5) MHz, from which we obtain an ionization energy of the 2 1P1 state of 814 709 148.6 (0.5) MHz. This ionization energy is in disagreement by > 3 sigma with the most accurate quantum electrodynamics (QED) calculations available. Our measurements also provide a new determination of the lifetime of the 2 1P1 state of 0.551 (0.004)stat (+ 0.013,- 0.000)syst ns, which is the most accurate determination to date and in excellent agreement with theory.