Effect of quantum interference processes on the angular distribution of the spontaneous radiation in the D line of alkali-metal vapors in a laser wave field

The resonance fluorescence of a degenerate V-type three-level atom in the field of an intense monochromatic wave with arbitrary polarization composition is investigated. The equations of motion, the general form of the radiation relaxation operator, and the analytical expressions for the angular distribution of the intensity of the spontaneous radiation from atoms, and the total intensity of the resonance fluorescence for such systems are obtained. The angular distribution of the spontaneous radiation from atoms for the D line of alkali-metal vapors is investigated. It is predicted theoretically that the intensity of the resonance fluorescence will decrease as the intensity of the pump wave increases in observations in a direction of the electric field vector of the laser wave.     

Focusing of an atomic beam by a Fresnel atom microlens

Focusing of an atomic beam by a Fresnel atom microlens formed by an optical field diffracted by an aperture whose size is comparable to or greater than the radiation wavelength is considered. It is shown that the dipole gradient force enables one to focus the atomic beam to a spot of about 10 nm in diameter. The focusing properties of a Fresnel atom microlens are analyzed within a model describing the dipole interaction of rubidium atoms with monochromatic radiation near the D-line.     

Experimental study of the resonance radiation group delay in degenerate systems

The dependence of the polarization-and intensity-modulation group delay on the polarization of electromagnetic wave was studied experimentally for different transitions between the hfs components of the ⁸⁷Rb D₁ absorption line. It was found that the polarization-modulation delay strongly depends on the degeneracy structure of resonant transition and, in the general case, on the ellipticity of light-wave polarization. It is demonstrated that the polarization-modulation delay does not occur for the transitions not involving dark states. The polarization delay was studied as a function of the polarization ellipticity angle. The intensity-modulation delay was measured for the resonance radiation to show that it is observed for all ⁸⁷Rb D₁-line transitions and is independent of polarization.     

Interrelationship between the polarization moments of different parity upon optical pumping of atoms under magnetic resonance conditions: II. Theory

The mutual coupling between the polarization moments with ranks of different parity is theoretically considered. The manifestation of this mutual coupling has been revealed previously in experiments on magnetic resonance of optically oriented cesium atoms. The two well-known types of the coupling between the polarization moments are considered: the field coupling of these moments that occur due to the breaking of the hyperfine coupling between the electronic and nuclear moments of the alkali atom by the magnetic field and the light coupling of the moments due to the absorption of the pumping light by polarized atoms. The experimentally observed similarity in the shape of resonance signals of alignment and orientation upon circularly polarized pumping can be explained by the fact that, for alkali atoms, the generation of alignment by light at the wavelength of the D ₁ line is of low efficiency. Therefore, alignment arises mainly from orientation by means of either the field or the light coupling of polarization moments. For metastable 2³ S ₁ ⁴He atoms, no influence of the orientation on the alignment was observed because, in these atoms, the field coupling between the polarization moments is absent and the light coupling is not displayed because the generation of alignment by the circularly polarized pumping light is more efficient than the creation of alignment from orientation by means of light coupling of polarization moments.     

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.     

Light-Induced shifts in the frequency of a multiphoton radiooptical SHF resonance in alkali atoms

A computation is carried out for light-induced shifts in the frequency of a multiphoton radiooptical SHF resonance in alkali atoms on the basis of the quantum formalism of spherical tensors. The components of a light-induced shift in frequency at magneto-independent 0–0– and 1,–1-transitions in⁸⁷Rb atoms under the conditions of isotopic filtration of the resonance light of pumping are calculated. The difference between the temperatures of a filter cell is discovered at which the point of zero shift in the frequency of radiooptical resonance is attained. The components of the light-induced shift of frequency in optically oriented⁸⁷Rb and¹³³Cs atoms are compared in the absence of collisional reorientation in excited state. The prevailing role of the tensor component of light-induced shift in pumping by the D₁-line of a head doublet and the effect of the orientational dependence of the frequency of a multiphoton resonance on change in the sign of the pumping source radiation polarization are noted. St. Petersburg State Polytechnical University, 29 Politekhnicheskaya Str., St. Petersburg, 195251, Russia. Translated from Zburnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 65, No. 6, pp. 832–838, November–December, 1998.     

Nanocell with a pressure-controlled Rb atomic vapor column thickness: Critical influence of the thickness on optical processes

A new device is designed: it consists of a nanocell (NC) filled with Rb atom vapors and placed in a vacuum chamber. When the pressure in the chamber changes in the range 0–1 atm, the NC thickness is smoothly varied in the range L = 140–1700 nm, which is caused by the pressure-induced deformation of thin garnet windows in the chamber. The pressure dependence has excellent reproducibility even after many hundreds of cycles of letting in of air and its complete pumping out from the chamber. The accuracy of setting required thickness L is much better than in the wedge-gap NCs to be moved mechanically that were used earlier. The processes of Faraday rotation (FR) of a polarization plane, resonance absorption, and fluorescence are studied using the D ₁-line narrow-band continuous laser radiation when the thickness changes from L = λ/2 (398 nm) to L = 2λ (1590 nm) at a step λ/2. The FR signal is shown to be maximal at L = λ/2 and 3λ/2 and to have the minimum spectral width (≈60 MHz). At L = λ and 2λ, the FR signal is minimal and has the maximum spectral width (≈200 MHz). The resonance absorption demonstrates the same oscillating behavior; however, the effect in the case of FR is much more pronounced. The oscillating effect is absent for resonance fluorescence: its spectral width and amplitude increase monotonically with L. The detected effects are explained and possible applications are noted.     

High-contrast dark resonances on the D<Subscript>1</Subscript> line of alkali metals in the field of counterpropagating waves

A new method providing a significant increase in the amplitude and contrast of dark resonances is proposed. The method is based on the use of the σ₊?σ_? configuration of polarized counterpropagating waves, D₁-line excitation in alkali metal atoms, and small-sized cells. Qualitative considerations of the scheme are confirmed by the results of numerical calculations. A variant of a standing wave with homogeneous circular polarization is also discussed.     

Influence of interference effects of spontaneous emission on the behavior and spectra of resonance fluorescence of a three-level atom in a strong wave field

An investigation is made of the influence of quantum interference processes accompanying radiative relaxation of excited states on the population dynamics, total intensity, and spectra of the resonance fluorescence of three-level V-type atoms. Analytic expressions are obtained for the total intensity and spectra of the resonance fluorescence taking into account the off-diagonal nature of the radiative relaxation operator. It is shown that quantum interference process can substantially alter the total spontaneous emission intensity of the atoms and the population dynamics of the atomic levels, as well as the resonance fluorescence spectra.     

Optical magnetometer with submicron spatial resolution based on Rb vapors

It is shown experimentally that use of fluorescence and transmission spectra obtained from nanocells with the thickness of column of rubidium atomic vapor L = λ/2 and L = λ, respectively (λ = 794 nm is the wavelength of laser radiation close to resonance with D ₁-line transition of Rb atoms), by means of a narrowband diode laser allows spectral separation and study of variations of probabilities of atomic transitions between ground and excited states of hfs of D ₁ lines of ⁸⁵Rb and ⁸⁷Rb atoms in the range of magnetic fields from 10 to 5000 G. Small thickness of atomic vapor column (∼390 nm and ∼794 nm) allows applying permanent magnets simplifying essentially creation of strong magnetic fields. Advantages of this technique are discussed as compared with the technique of saturated absorption. The obtained results show that a nanocell with submicrom thickness of vapor column may serve as a basis for designing a magnetometer with submicron local spatial resolution which is important in case of measuring strongly inhomogeneous magnetic fields. Experimental data are in good agreement with the theoretical results.     

Optical pumping of cesium atoms with second resonance light

We report the first successful optical pumping of cesium atoms to a state of high spin polarization with a CW dye laser tuned to the D₁ second resonance line (4593 Å) of the cesium atom. Results of spin polarization versus laser power measurements for cells containing high-density cesium vapors (10¹³–10¹⁵ cm^-3) plus mixtures of nitrogen (10–200 torr) and helium (≈1 atmosphere) gases are presented. These experiments have revealed unexpected limits to the spin polarization of dense alkali vapors.     

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.     

Polarization of atomic line radiation

In order to test the predictions of the general theory for the polarization of atomic radiation excited by electron impact, we measured the polarization of atomic lines in electron-alkali atom crossed-beam experiments. The results show a typical behaviour for the polarization of lithium and sodium resonance lines, which is contrary to the earlier measurements such as those ofSkinner andAppleyard: the polarization of the resonance lines increases monotonically from higher energies to the excitation threshold. The threshold polarization of the first resonance lines of Li⁶, Li⁷ and Na²³ is in good agreement with the calculations byFlower andSeaton. These results demonstrate that polarization is very sensitive to the natural level width, and to the fine and hyperfine structure separations of the excited states. Polarization of further lines has been investigated: an alkali line from anS to aP state is unpolarized as expected, but the polarization of a line from aD to aP state decreased in an unexpected manner near the threshold energy.     

On the self-shift and broadening of doppler-free Rydberg 2S spectral lines in alkali atoms

The shift and broadening of Doppler-free, two-photon transitions to Rydberg states of alkali atoms are analyzed for the case of Rb in the framework of a molecular approach to collisions of ground state and Rydberg atoms. The overall features of the observed spectra are determined by the electrostatic interactions between the two atoms and are calculated using the impact theory of spectral line-shapes. The superimposed oscillations in the widths and shifts as functions of the Rydberg quantum number can be understood in terms of resonance electron-ground state atom scattering. The corresponding contributions to the spectra are determined by the energy and lifetime of a ³P autoionizing state of the negative alakali ion.     

Sublevel spectroscopy of alkali atoms in superfluid helium

We report the results of optical pumping and optical detection of magnetic resonance of alkali atoms (Cs and Rb) in superfluid helium. The magnetic resonances between the ground-state Zeeman sublevels and hyperfine levels are observed through monitoring theD ₁ fluorescence by means of the optical-rf double resonance technique. Although the ground stateg values in superfluid helium are the same as in vacuum within the experimental error, the hyperfine constant of the ground state of the Cs atom in superfluid helium is found to be slightly larger than in vacuum. Coherent transient spectroscopy is also performed.     

Narrow-band N-resonance formed in thin rubidium atomic layers

The narrow-band N-resonance formed in a ?? system of D ₁-line rubidium atoms is studied in the presence of a buffer gas (neon) and the radiations of two continuous narrow-band diode lasers. Special-purpose cells are used to investigate the dependence of the process on vapor column thickness L in millimeter, micrometer, and nanometer ranges. A comparison of the dependences of the N-resonance and the electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) resonance on L demonstrates that the minimum (record) thickness at which the N-resonance can be detected is L = 50 ??m and that a high-contrast EIT resonance can easily be formed even at L ?? 800 nm. The N-resonance in a magnetic field for ⁸⁵Rb atoms is shown to split into five or six components depending on the magnetic field and laser radiation directions. The results obtained indicate that levels F _g = 2, 3 are initial and final in the N-resonance formation. The dependence of the N-resonance on the angle between the laser beams is analyzed, and practical applications are noted.     

High-contrast dark resonance on the D<Subscript>2</Subscript>-line of <Superscript>87</Superscript>Rb in a vapor cell with different directions of the pump-probe waves

We propose a novel method enabling to create a high-contrast dark resonance in the ⁸⁷Rb vapor D₂-line. The method is based on an optical pumping of atoms into the working states by a two-frequency, linearly-polarized laser radiation propagating perpendicularly to the probe field. This new scheme is compared to the traditional scheme involving the σ⁺-polarized probe beam only, and significant improvement of the dark resonance parameters is found. Qualitative considerations are confirmed by numerical calculations.     

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.     

Microwave spectroscopy of cold rubidium atoms

The effect of microwave radiation on the resonance fluorescence of a cloud of cold ⁸⁵Rb atoms in a magnetooptical trap is studied. The radiation frequency was tuned near the hyperfine splitting frequency of rubidium atoms in the 5S ground state. The microwave field induced magnetic dipole transitions between the magnetic sublevels of the 5S (F=2) and 5S (F=3) states, resulting in a change in the fluorescence signal. The resonance fluorescence spectra were recorded by tuning the microwave radiation frequency. The observed spectra were found to be substantially dependent on the transition under study and the frequency of a repump laser used in the cooling scheme.     

Features of two-photon resonances of nonlinear magnetooptical rotation of the plane of polarization for the initial population of fine-structure levels in alkali atoms

The features of nonlinear magnetooptical effects of fine-structure levels of an alkali atom, including effects in strong magnetic fields, as well as under conditions of two-photon resonance, are considered. The spectra of magnetooptical rotation and of magnetic circular dichroism have been obtained for the first time for the nontrivial initial population of magnetic sublevels of excited electronic states of an alkali atom, as well as under conditions of two-photon resonance. The decrease in the amplitude of resonances of initially populated fine-structure levels is explained by population transfer, taking place in strong fields. This transfer affects the rotation of the plane of polarization. The lower the initial population, the more pronounced the population transfer. Numerical experiments have shown that analysis of the resonance shapes in the spectra of magnetooptical rotation can yield information on the initial population of magnetic sublevels of excited electronic states of atoms.