Dynamic Stark Effect and Forbidden-Transition Spectral Lineshapes

We report on an experimental and theoretical study of thedynamic (ac) Stark effect on a for bidden transition. A general frameworkfor parameterizing and describing off-resonant ac-Stark shifts ispresented. A model is developed to calculate spectral line shapesresulting from resonant excitation of atoms in an intense standinglight-wave in the presence of off-resonant ac-Stark shifts. The model isused in the analysis and interpretation of a measurement of the ac-Starkshifts of the static-electric-field-induced 6s2 1S0 -->5d6s 3D1transition at 408 nm in atomic Yb. The results are in agreement withestimates of the ac-Stark shift of the transition under the assumptionthat the shift is dominated by that of the 6s2 1S0 ground state. Adetailed description of the experiment and analysis is presented. Abi-product of this work is an ind ependent determination (from thesaturation behavior of the 408-nm transition) of the Stark transitionpolarizability, which is found to be in agreement with our earliermeasurement. This work is part of the ongoing effort aimed at a precisionmeasurement of atomic parity-violation effects in Yb