Implementation of a double-scanning technique for studies of the Hanle effect in rubidium vapor

We have studied the resonance fluorescence of a room-temperature rubidium vapor exited to the atomic ⁵P_3/2 state (D₂ line) by powerful single-frequency cw laser radiation (1.25 W/cm²) in the presence of a magnetic field. In these studies, the slow, linear scanning of the laser frequency across the hyperfine transitions of the D₂ line is combined with a fast linear scanning of the applied magnetic field, which allows us to record frequency-dependent Hanle resonances from all the groups of hyperfine transitions including V- and Λ-type systems. Rate equations were used to simulate fluorescence signals for ⁸⁵Rb due to circularly polarized exciting laser radiation with different mean frequency values and laser intensity values. The simulation show a dependence of the fluorescence on the magnetic field. The Doppler effect was taken into account by averaging the calculated signals over different velocity groups. Theoretical calculations give a width of the signal peak in good agreement with experiment.