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arXiv:1011.2754 · Physical Review A

Observation of atomic localization using electromagnetically induced transparency

Nicholas Proite, Zach J. Simmons, Deniz D. Yavuz

Published Apr 22, 2011• 113 citations
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Abstract

We present a proof-of-principle experiment in which the population of an atomic level is spatially localized using the technique of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). The key idea is to utilize the sensitive dependence of the dark state of EIT on the intensity of the coupling laser beam. By using a sinusoidal intensity variation (standing wave), we demonstrate that the population of a specific hyperfine level can be localized much more tightly than the spatial period.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.83.041803

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We present a proof-of-principle experiment in which the population of an atomic level is spatially localized using the technique of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). The key idea is to utilize the sensitive dependence of the dark state of EIT on the intensity of the coupling laser beam. By using a sinusoidal intensity variation (standing wave), we demonstrate that the population of a specific hyperfine level can be localized much more tightly than the spatial period.
We report an experiment in which an atomic excitation is localized to a spatial width that is a factor of 8 smaller than the wavelength of the incident light.The experiment utilizes the sensitivity of the dark state of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) to the intensity of the coupling laser beam.A standing-wave coupling laser with a sinusoidally varying intensity yields tightly confined Raman excitations during the EIT process.The excitations, located near the nodes of the intensity profile, have a width of 100 nm.The experiment is performed using ultracold 87 Rb atoms trapped in an optical dipole trap, and atomic localization is achieved with EIT pulses that are approximately 100 ns long.To probe subwavelength atom localization, we have developed a technique that can measure the width of the atomic excitations with nanometer spatial resolution.
We report an experiment in which an atomic excitation is localized to a spatial width that is a factor of 8 smaller than the wavelength of the incident light. The experiment utilizes the sensitivity of the dark state of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) to the intensity of the coupling laser beam. A standing-wave coupling laser with a sinusoidally varying intensity yields tightly confined Raman excitations during the EIT process. The excitations, located near the nodes of the intensity profile, have a width of 100 nm. The experiment is performed using ultracold Rb atoms trapped in an optical dipole trap, and atomic localization is achieved with EIT pulses that are approximately 100 ns long. To probe subwavelength atom localization, we have developed a technique that can measure the width of the atomic excitations with nanometer spatial resolution.
We experimentally demonstrate the localization of excitation between hyperfine ground states of 87Rb^{87}\mathrm{Rb}87Rb atoms to as small as $\ensuremath{\lambda}/13$-wide spatial regions. We use ultracold atoms trapped in a dipole trap and utilize electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) for the atomic excitation. The localization is achieved by combining a spatially varying coupling laser (standing wave) with the intensity dependence of EIT. The excitation is fast (150 ns laser pulses) and the dark-state fidelity can be made higher than 94% throughout the standing wave. Because the width of the localized regions is much smaller than the wavelength of the driving light, traditional optical imaging techniques cannot resolve the localized features. Therefore, to measure the excitation profile, we use an autocorrelation-like method where we perform two EIT sequences separated by a time delay, during which we move the standing wave.
We study numerically the localization of atomic excitation based on the dark states formed through electromagnetically induced transparency using interfering coupling beams. In particular, we examine the formation of dark states in a system exhibiting hyperfine splitting, including the effects of optical pumping in this multilevel system, laser polarization, and finite interaction time, and explore the conditions that lead to optimal spatial resolution of the excitation. We find that optimal localization requires long interaction times, due to the slow approach of the atomic system to steady state near the nodes of the standing wave pattern.
We report on an investigation of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in sodium vapour. In our experiment, sodium atoms are excited on the D1-line with laser radiation containing two components with a frequency difference close to that of the two hyperfine ground states of sodium (1.772 GHz). Such an excitation leads to coherent trapping of atomic population in “dark” superpositional states, which dramatically reduces the absorption of light. A frequency transparency window is measured to have a subnatural width, which is a clear indication of coherent population trapping. Dependence of EIT on laser frequencies and intensities, on the magnetic field strength as well as on the temperature of the sodium vapour is studied.
A thermal vapor of three-level atoms irradiated by two copropagating laser beams of suitable frequencies exhibits the phenomenon of coherent population trapping, leading to an electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). When a mirror reflects the beams back onto themselves one finds that depending on the position along the resulting standing wave the fluorescence intensity from the sample (cesium in our case) decreases (EIT) or even increases [electromagnetically induced absorption (EIA)] with a period on the centimeter scale. An intuitive picture is based on the interference of coherent dark states but the explanation of the EIA effect requires consideration of Doppler effects in the thermal vapor. This allows for a quantitative comparison between experimental and calculated results.