Orders-of-magnitude improved precision spectroscopy of an inner-shell orbital clock transition in neutral ytterbium (2505.04154v1)

Abstract: An inner-shell orbital clock transition $^1S_0 \leftrightarrow 4f^{13}5d6s^2 : (J=2)$ in neutral ytterbium atoms has attracted much attention as a new optical frequency standard as well as a highly sensitive probe to several new physics phenomena, such as ultra-light dark matter, violation of local Lorentz invariance, and a new Yukawa potential between electrons and neutrons. Here, we demonstrate almost two-orders-of-magnitude improved precision spectroscopy over the previous reports by trapping atoms in a three-dimensional magic-wavelength optical lattice. In particular, we successfully observe the coherent Rabi oscillation, the relaxation dynamics of the excited state, and the interorbital Feshbach resonance. To highlight the high precision of our spectroscopy, we carry out precise isotope shift measurements between five stable bosonic isotopes well below 10 Hz uncertainties, successfully setting bounds for a hypothetical boson mediating a force between electrons and neutrons. These results open up the way for various new physics search experiments and a wide range of applications to quantum science with this clock transition.