Hyperfine-Structure Studies of Highly ExcitedDandFLevels in Alkali Atoms Using a cw Tunable Dye Laser

Abstract

Highly excited $S$, $D$, and $F$ levels in cesium and rubidium have been populated utilizing a two-step optical excitation method. In the first step an rf lamp is used to transfer atoms into the first $P$ states, and the subsequent excitation is performed with the tunable radiation of a cw dye laser. We give results for the hyperfine structure of several $D$ and $F$ states in ${\mathrm{Cs}}^{133}$ and ${\mathrm{Rb}}^{87}$, obtained in level-crossing and optical double resonance experiments.