Precision Spectroscopy of Atomic Hydrogen

International audiencePrecise determinations of transition frequencies of simple atomic systems are required for a number of fundamental applications such as tests of quantum electrodynamics (QED), the determination of fundamental constants and nuclear charge radii. The sharpest transition in atomic hydrogen occurs between the metastable 2S state and the 1S ground state. Its transition frequency has now been measured with almost 15 digits accuracy using an optical frequency comb and a cesium atomic clock as a reference [1]. A recent measurement of the 2S - 2P<SUB>3/2</SUB> transition frequency in muonic hydrogen is in significant contradiction to the hydrogen data if QED calculations are assumed to be correct [2, 3]. We hope to contribute to this so-called "proton size puzzle" by providing additional experimental input from hydrogen spectroscopy