High Precision Measurement of the Static Dipole Polarizability of Cesium

The cesium 6²S1/2 scalar dipole polarizability α₀ has been determined from the time-of-flight of laser cooled and launched cesium atoms traveling through an electric field. We find ${{α}}₀=6.611±{}0.009×{}{10}^{{-}39} {C m}²/V=59.42±{}0.08×{}{10}^{{-}24} {cm}³=401.0±{}0.6{a}₀³$. The 0.14% uncertainty is a factor of 14 improvement over the previous measurement. Values for the ${6}²{P}1/2$ and ${6}²{P}3/2$ lifetimes and the ${6}²{S}1/2$ cesium-cesium dispersion coefficient ${C}₆$ are determined from ${{α}}₀$ using the procedure of Derevianko and Porsev [Phys. Rev. A 65, 053403 (2002)].