Study of the frequency distribution of the fluorescent light induced by monochromatic radiation

The frequency distribution of the fluorescent light induced by monochromatic dye laser radiation was investigated. To exclude the influence of the Doppler width a strongly collimated atomic beam was used. The spectrum was measured by means of a piezoelectrically tunable spherical Fabry Perot. The interaction region between the laser light and the atomic beam was placed into the center of the interferometer. Thus the observed fluorescence spectrum was considerably more intense than in the case where the interferometer is used separately from the beam. The fluorescence spectrum was observed for different directions of polarization of the incident laser beam. In the case of weak excitation the spectrum consists of a sharp component essentially due to elastically scattered light. At high intensities a structure of three components is observed which is in agreement with theoretical predictions when circularly polarized light is used for excitation.