Isotope-shift and hyperfine-constant measurements of near-infrared xenon transitions in glow discharges and on a metastable Xe(P-3(2)) beam

In this paper we discuss the hyperfine structure and isotope shift of the xenon atom. The study was performed using a semiconductor diode laser mounted in an extended-cavity configuration and emitting in the near-infrared range of spectrum. Doppler-free spectra of four transitions between 820 and 830 nm were obtained by using either a saturation spectroscopy technique in a cell or a laser-induced fluorescence technique on a collimated atomic metastable beam. The hyperfine coupling constants of Xe-129 and Xe-131 were determined for the levels 1s(5), 1s(4), 1s(2), 2p(2), 2p(4), and 2p(6) (Paschen notation). Moreover, a systematic study of the isotope shift was performed for the 1s(3)-->2P(4) (lambda= 820.8 nm) and 1S(5)-->2P(6) (lambda=823.3 nm) transitions for which all the stable isotopes Xe128-131, Xe-132, Xe-134, and Xe-136 were fully resolved. [S1050-2947(99)02712-2].