PRECISE MEASUREMENT OF DENSITY-DEPENDENT SHIFT BY WAVELENGTH MODULATION REFLECTION SPECTROSCOPY

The density dependence of the line shift of the cesium D₂ line is studied with sub-Doppler selective reflection spectroscopy. By use of wavelength modulation and sixth-harmonics detection we observed the coefficient of the pressure-induced shift of the 6S_1/2(F=4)→6P_3/2(F'=3) hyperfine transition of the cesium D₂ line \Delta \delta/\rho = -0.9(5)×10^-8cm³. In the limit \rho=0 a frequency shift about -3MHz remains, which may be attributed to long-range atom－surface interactions. The experimental results can be used in measurements of the local field-induced frequency shift at high atomic densities with sufficient accuracy.