Interrelationship between the polarization moments of different parity upon optical pumping of atoms under magnetic resonance conditions: III. Comparison of theory with experiment

The optical pumping of Cs atoms with light of the D ₁ line under magnetic resonance conditions is numerically calculated. This calculation is done to check the suggestion that an unexpectedly strong influence of the polarization of the pumping light on the resonance signals of transverse alignment, which we observed experimentally, is caused by the coupling between orientation and alignment by means of the magnetic field and/or the pumping light. This suggestion has been confirmed: upon circularly polarized pumping, the shape of the signal line of transverse alignment proved to be similar, as well as in the experiment, to the shape of the signal line of transverse orientation and was sharply different from the shape of the line of alignment observed upon linearly polarized pumping. For metastable 2³ S ₁ ⁴He atoms, in accordance with the experimental data, the calculated shape of the signal line of transverse alignment is found to be independent of the polarization of the pumping light. The calculations also confirm the possibility of a reverse effect: the influence of alignment on orientation, which manifests itself in the occurrence of orientation upon pumping with unpolarized light under magnetic resonance conditions. For Cs atoms exposed to a field of ～0.6 Oe, the largest contribution to this effect is yielded by the field coupling of orientation and alignment, whereas, for metastable 2³ S ₁ ⁴He atoms, the largest contribution is made by the light coupling of these polarization moments.     

Interrelationship between the polarization moments of different parity upon optical pumping of atoms under the magnetic resonance conditions: I. Experiment on the <Superscript>133</Superscript>Cs and <Superscript>4</Superscript>He atoms

In an experiment with an optical pumping of ¹³³Cs atoms in the 6² S _1/2 ground state, the line shape of the D ^2f magnetic resonance signal for the transverse alignment component oscillating at a double frequency f of a radio-frequency (RF) magnetic field is found to strongly depend on the polarization of pumping radiation. On passage from a linearly polarized pumping light to a circularly polarized (CP) light with a sufficiently strong RF field the ordinary three-peak line with the highest central peak transforms into a two-peak line with a minimum at the center, so that the D ^2f signal line resembles the M ^f signal line of a transverse orientation oscillating at the RF field frequency f. This suggests that the orientation (the first-rank polarization moment (PM)) arising upon CP pumping affects the alignment (the second-rank PM); i.e., the PMs of Cs atoms with different parities of their ranks become coupled. No influence of the polarization of a pumping radiation on the line shape of the D ^2f signal is observed in a similar experiment with the ⁴He atoms in the 2³ S ₁ metastable state.     

Kontinuierlicher Absorptionsquerschnitt von Argon im Bogenplasma

Optical pumping on Cs¹³³ atoms was performed by means of a new transmission technique. The cesium vapor was pumped towards equilibrium by an intensive circulary polarizedD ₁ orD ₂ light beam. A weakD ₁ detecting beam was polarized alternately σ⁺, σ^? and allowed one to measure continuously amount and sign of the absorption difference between σ⁺ and σ^? light. The measured signals are proportional to the electron spin polarization. The new technique was used to investigate the influence of Cs buffer gas collisions on the pumping cycle and to measure the influence of radio frequency induced Zeeman transitions on the ground state polarization. In addition the variation of magnetic field and of pumping light intensity and polarization was studied. Some measurements demonstrate the high sensitivity of the applied method. The obtained qualitative results are discussed and further experiments are proposed.     

Manifestation of higher polarization moments in the dipole emission under conditions of stepwise excitation and anisotropic collisions

The induction of higher polarization moments-the octupole orientation and the hexadecapole alignment—in the case of two-step excitation of atoms through dipole transitions and their manifestation in the polarization of dipole emission under conditions of anisotropic collisions are studied. For all channels of the two-step excitation process J ₀→J ₁ J, the efficiencies of production of higher polarization moments with integer and half-integer angular momenta from J=2 to J=7 through the absorption of linearly or circularly polarized light are calculated. The rates of collisional relaxation and interconversion of higher polarization moments, for both orientation and alignment, as functions of frequency detuning of the laser line from the center of the Doppler profile are calculated. The theory is illustrated by an example of two channels of excitation of the atomic state J=2 by circularly polarized light: J ₀=0→J ₁=1J=2 and J ₀=3→J 1=2 (or 3)→J=2. In the first case, the octupole orientation enhances or attenuates the signal of circular polarization depending on the laser frequency detuning. In the second case, it represents the only source producing orientation and circular polarization of the emitted light.     

Spectral dependence of polarization of cesium atoms during pumping by a narrowband semiconductor laser

It is found in an experiment with narrowband laser pumping of Cs atoms by light of the D ₂-line that the spectral dependence of the polarization of atoms significantly differs from the spectral dependence of the light absorption by nonpolarized atoms. The difference lies in a partial resolution of the hyperfine structure of the excited 6² P _3/2 state, which remains unresolved in the case of nonpolarized atoms. The shape of the spectral dependence of the atom polarization observed upon pumping with circularly polarized light differs from that in the case of the linear polarized pumping and depends strongly on the buffer gas pressure, which allows one to obtain experimental information on collisional relaxation in the excited state. Calculation for a cell with antirelaxation coating and a cell with helium (6-Torr pressure) gives spectral dependences that are qualitatively consistent with experiment.     

Steady state signal in the limit of weak optical pumping with D1 or D2 line

The simplified rate equations for electronic polarization of alkali atoms in the hyperfine ground states are shown for circularly polarizedD ₁ andD ₂ lines in the limit of weak pumping. The rate equations include effects due to collisional and spin exchange relaxation of atoms in the ground state. Analytical forms of the repopulation pumping terms are shown assuming the standardJ-randomization model for relaxation of alkali atoms in resonant² P _J states and neglecting energy transfer. Analyses of the analytical steady state solutions have been performed to determine the conditions at which the longitudinal electronic orientation of alkali atoms 〈S _z〉 and the orientation of atoms in hyperfine sublevels 〈S _z〉 _f pass through zero.     

On the unique possibility of significantly increasing the contrast of dark resonances on the D1 line of <Superscript>87</Superscript>Rb

We propose and study, theoretically and experimentally, a new scheme of excitation of a coherent population trapping resonance for the D1 line of alkali atoms with nuclear spin I = 3/2 by bichromatic linearly polarized light (lin‖lin field) under the conditions of spectral resolution of the excited state. The unique properties of this scheme result in a high contrast of dark resonance for the D1 line of ⁸⁷Rb.     

Spin-dependent recombination in GaAsN solid solutions

Room-temperature spin-dependent recombination in a series of GaAs_1?xN_x solid solutions (x = 2.1, 2.7, 3.4%) has been observed as manifested by a more than threefold decrease in intensity of the edge photoluminescence upon switching from circular to linear polarization of the exciting light or upon the application of a transverse magnetic field (～300 G). The interband absorption of the circularly polarized light is accompanied by the spin polarization of conduction electrons, which reaches 35% with an increase in the pumping level. The observed effects are explained in terms of the dynamic polarization of deep paramagnetic centers and the spin-dependent trapping of conduction electrons on these centers. The electron spin relaxation time, as estimated from the dependence of the edge photoluminescence depolarization in the transverse magnetic field (the Hanle effect) on the pumping intensity, is on the order of 1 ns. According to the adopted theory, the electron spin relaxation time in the presence of spin-dependent recombination is determined by a slow spin relaxation of localized electrons. The sign (positive) of the g factor of localized electrons has been experimentally determined from the direction of the magnetic-field-induced rotation of their average spin observed in the three GaAsN crystals studied.     

Electron spin precession in the field of an electromagnetic wave

The solution of the Dirac equation for an electron in the field of a plane circularly polarized electromagnetic wave having an arbitrary intensity and a phase velocity v _ph different from the speed of light c is obtained. This solution is shown to describe the previously unknown effect of electron spin precession that exceeds the known precession effects caused by radiative corrections by six and more orders of magnitude and opens new possibilities for control of the polarization of electrons and for realization of various resonance methods associated with the spin precession. The predicted effect is in agreement with symmetry principles; however, it disappears at v _ph=c and is not described by the known Volkov solution.     

Kinetics of atoms in the field produced by elliptically polarized waves

The kinetics of atoms with degenerate energy levels in the field produced by elliptically polarized waves is considered in the semiclassical approximation. Analytic expressions for the force acting on an atom and for the diffusion coefficient in the momentum space are derived for the optical transition J _g =1/2→J _e = 1/2 in the slow atom approximation. These expressions are valid for an arbitrary one-dimensional configuration of the light field and for an arbitrary intensity. The peculiarities of the atomic kinetics are investigated in detail; these peculiarities are associated with ellipticity of light waves and are absent in particular configurations formed by circularly or linearly polarized waves, which were considered earlier.     

Studying the regime of complete decoupling of the bond between the electron and nuclear moments at the <Emphasis Type="Italic">D</Emphasis><Subscript>1</Subscript>-line of the <Superscript>39</Superscript>K potassium isotope using a spectroscopic microcell

Atomic transitions of the ³⁹K potassium isotope in strong (up to 1 kG) longitudinal and transverse magnetic fields have been studied with a high spectral resolution. It has been shown that crossover resonances are almost absent in the saturated absorption spectrum of potassium vapors in a 30-μm-thick microcell. This, together with the small spectral width of atomic transitions (~30 MHz), allows one to use the saturated absorption spectrum for determining frequencies and probabilities of individual transitions. Among the alkali metals, potassium atoms have the smallest magnitude of the hyperfine splitting of the lower level. This allows one to observe the break of the coupling between the electronic and nuclear angular momentums at comparatively low magnetic fields B > 500 G, i.e., to implement the hyperfine Paschen–Back regime (HPB). In the HPB regime, four equidistantly positioned transitions with the same amplitude are detected in circularly polarized light (σ⁺). In linearly polarized light (π) at the transverse orientation of the magnetic field, the spectrum consists of eight lines which are grouped in two groups each of which consists of four lines. Each group has a special distinguished G-transition and the transition that is forbidden in the zero magnetic field. In the HPB regime, the probabilities of transitions in a group and derivatives of their frequency shifts with respect to the magnetic field asymptotically tend to magnitudes that are typical for the aforesaid distinguished G-transition. Some practical applications for the used microcell are mentioned.     

Electron spin filtering in the GaAs/AlGaAs interface space charge field

The circularly polarized recombination radiation produced by optically oriented electrons in GaAs and viewed in the direction of and opposite to the pump light propagation was found to have opposite signs of polarization. The excitation was effected by photons of energy E_hv ≈ E _g + Δ through a transparent AlGaAs window. The opposite signs of circular polarization and its complex dependence on the luminescence wavelength are accounted for by the influence of the space charge field created by the depleted layer near the interface.     

Laser spectroscopy and optical pumping of alkali atoms in superfluid helium

In this paper, our recent works on the alkali atoms in superfluid helim (HeII) are reported. At first we mentions the laser-sputtering method for implantation, which is simple but is very efficient to produce various kinds of neutral atoms and molecules in HeII. Secondly, we report on the laser spectroscopy of alkali atoms in HeII. Optical excitation and emission spectra are found to be roughly explained by a spherical atomic bubble model, but the spectra corresponding to the D₂ lines indicate the quadrupole oscillation of the bubble shape. Optical pumping by a circularly polarized laser beam is found to produce perfect polarization, for both electron and nuclear spins. Using the rf-optical double resonance techniques, the magnetic and hyperfine resonances are observed. It is discussed also about the phenomena which have observed in the experiments done so far but have not been fully explained.     

Normal modes of a probe field in the pulsed regime of electromagnetically induced transparency in a Λ-scheme of degenerate quantum transitions

The effect of separation of linearly polarized short probe pulses of electromagnetically induced transparency in the field of linearly polarized coupling radiation is modeled numerically. It is shown that the input-probe pulses polarized parallel or perpendicular to the input-probe field propagate in the medium without changing the state of their polarization. If the input-probe radiation is weak compared to the coupling radiation, then the probe field inside the medium is the sum of two independently propagating linearly polarized normal modes, which are excited by the projections of the input-probe pulse onto the direction of polarization of the coupling radiation and onto the perpendicular direction, respectively. The normal modes have the same phase velocities, but different velocities of their real envelopes. This circumstance leads to the rotation of the plane of polarization of the total probe field at short distances and to its separation into two pulses with mutually perpendicular directions of polarization at long distances. At a high intensity of the probe radiation, the input-probe pulse decays into pulses the planes of polarization of which are not mutually perpendicular. Under these conditions, it is impossible to represent the probe radiation as a sum of normal modes. The modeling is performed in the scheme of degenerate quantum transitions between states of levels ³ P ₀, ³ P ₁ ⁰, and ³ P ₂ of isotope ²⁰⁸Pb taking into account the Doppler broadening of spectral lines.     

Spin-dependent recombination and optical spin orientation in semiconductors

Spin-dependent recombination is observed in Ga_0.6Al_0.4As at 77°K on the intensity of the donor-acceptor pairs photoluminescence. The lifetime is enhanced by a factor 2.3 when photocreated electrons and recombination centers are spin polarized by optical pumping with circularly polarized light. Optical orientation and spin-dependent recombination lead to a steady-state electronic spin polarization as large as 70%.     

Features of the Formation of the Spin Polarization of an Alkali Metal at the Resolution of Hyperfine Sublevels in the <Superscript>2</Superscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">S</Emphasis><Subscript>1/2</Subscript> State

The optical orientation of the angular momenta of alkali atoms in the presence of a buffer gas (molecular nitrogen) has been studied experimentally. It has been shown that, even at a low concentration of molecular nitrogen in the cell, the excitation of ¹³³Cs atoms from the lower hyperfine level with F = 3, which belongs to the ground ²S_1/2 state, results in a larger amplitude of the magnetic resonance than the excitation from the hyperfine level with F = 4. This result has been theoretically explained under the assumption that the spin state of the alkali atomic nucleus does not change at collision with a nitrogen molecule, which is accompanied by a nonradiative transition of the alkali atom from the excited ²P_1/2 state to the ground ²S_1/2 state.     

Optical orientation of atoms in spontaneous Raman scattering of elliptically polarized light

A general approach to the problem of spontaneous transfer of light-induced anisotropy in the scheme of Raman scattering of resonance elliptically polarized light is developed. Depending on the type of the field-excited (a)?(b) transition, the stationary distribution of atoms over the sublevels of the final level (c) coupled with the excited level only by the (b)→(c) spontaneous transition is either isotropic and does not depend on field parameters or anisotropic. In the latter case, the anisotropy is determined by both field polarization and (at fairly large level momentum values) field detuning and intensity.     

Quadrupole interaction of8Li and9Li in LiNbO3 and the quadrupole moment of9Li

The quadrupole interaction of nuclear spin polarized⁸Li (I=2) and⁹Li (I=3/2) in LiNbO₃ has been studied at room temperature. The polarization was achieved by optical pumping of a fast atomic beam with circularly polarized laser light. The atoms were implanted into a hexagonal LiNbO₃ single crystal and the quadrupole splitting ofβ-NMR spectra was measured. A ratio of ¦Q(⁹Li)/Q(⁸Li)¦=0.88(4) for the nuclear quadrupole moments was deduced, yielding a new value of ¦Q(⁹Li)¦=25.3 (9) mb for the quadrupole moment of⁹Li.