High-precision frequency measurement of the 423-nm Ca i line

We have performed an accurate frequency calibration of the 4s{sup 2} {sup 1}S{sub 0{yields}}4s4p {sup 1}P{sub 1} principal resonance line of the neutral calcium atom at 423 nm. Doppler-free cw excitation on a Ca atomic beam was performed by utilizing a Sagnac geometry in the alignment of the excitation beams. From frequency calibrations against a frequency comb, stabilized to a global positioning system (GPS) disciplined Rb standard, the transition frequency is determined at 709 078 373.01(35) MHz for the main {sup 40}Ca isotope. Slightly lower accuracies are obtained for the transition frequencies of the less abundant isotopes. The achieved fractional uncertainty of 5x10{sup -10} exceeds the requirements for including this transition in investigations that aim to probe a possible variation in the fine-structure constant {alpha} on cosmological time scales.