arXiv:1706.04868 · Physical Review A
Two-photon excitation of rubidium atoms inside porous glass
Lucía Amy, L. Lenci, S. Villalba, H. Failache, A. Lezama
Abstract
We study the two-photon laser excitation to the $5{D}_{5/2}$ energy level of $^{85}\mathrm{Rb}$ atoms contained in the interstices of a porous material made from sintered ground glass with typical pore dimensions in the 10--100 $\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{m}$ range. The excitation spectra show unusual flat-top line shapes, which are shown to be the consequence of wave-vector randomization of the laser light in the porous material. For large atomic densities, the spectra are affected by radiation trapping around the ${D}_{2}$ transitions. The effect of the transient atomic response limited by the time of flight between pores walls appears to have a minor influence in the excitation spectra. It is however revealed by the shortening of the temporal evolution of the emitted blue light following a sudden switch-off of the laser excitation.