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arXiv:1807.10939 · Physical Review A

Optical-depth scaling of light scattering from a dense and cold atomic Rb87 gas

Kasie Kemp, S.J. Roof, Mark D. Havey, Igor M. Sokolov, Dmitriy V. Kupriyanov, William Guerin

Published Mar 20, 2020• 11 citations
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Abstract

We report investigation of near-resonance light scattering from a cold and dense atomic gas of $^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ atoms. Measurements are made for probe frequencies tuned near the $F=2\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{F}^{\ensuremath{'}}=3$ nearly closed hyperfine transition, with particular attention paid to the dependence of the scattered light intensity on detuning from resonance, the number of atoms in the sample, and atomic sample size. We find that, over a wide range of experimental variables, the optical depth of the atomic sample serves as an effective single scaling parameter which describes well all the experimental data.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.101.033832

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We report investigation of near-resonance light scattering from a cold and dense atomic gas of 87Rb^{87}\mathrm{Rb}87Rb atoms. Measurements are made for probe frequencies tuned near the F=2\ensuremath→F\ensuremath′=3F=2\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{F}^{\ensuremath{'}}=3F=2\ensuremath→F\ensuremath′=3 nearly closed hyperfine transition, with particular attention paid to the dependence of the scattered light intensity on detuning from resonance, the number of atoms in the sample, and atomic sample size. We find that, over a wide range of experimental variables, the optical depth of the atomic sample serves as an effective single scaling parameter which describes well all the experimental data.
We report a combined experimental and theoretical investigation of near-resonance light scattering from a high-density and ultracold atomic 87{}^{87}87Rb gas. The atomic sample, having a peak density $\ensuremath{\sim}$$5\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{13}$ atoms/cm3{}^{3}3, temperature $\ensuremath{\sim}$65 $\ensuremath{\mu}$K, and initially prepared in the F=1F=1F=1 lower-energy 87{}^{87}87Rb hyperfine component, is optically pumped to the higher-energy F=2F=2F=2 hyperfine level. Measurements are made of the transient hyperfine pumping process and of the time evolution of scattering of near-resonance probe radiation on the $F=2\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{F}^{\ensuremath{'}}=3$ transition. Features of the density, detuning, and temporal dependence of the signals are attributed to the high density and consequent large optical depth of the samples.
Over the past half century, atomic ensembles have been used to create sensors, clocks, and quantum information systems. As these devices become more compact, and as the number of atoms increases to improve the sensitivity for detection, the atomic samples are increasing in density and optical depth. As such, the spectroscopic properties of the atomic media are modified due to interactions among the particles in the ensemble. We report investigation of near-resonance light scattering from a cold atomic sample of 87Rb. Initially prepared in a magneto-optical trap, the atoms are loaded into a far-off-resonance optical dipole trap (FORT) in which the ensemble has a temperature near 100 mK and initial Gaussian radii of approximately 3 mm and 280 mm in the transverse and longitudinal directions, respectively. With atomic densities in the range of 1010 - 1013 atoms/cm3, measurements are made on the F=2 -> F'=3 nearly closed hyperfine transition. The experimental geometry consists of projecting a near-resonance collimated laser beam onto the entire volume of the FORT and detecting the diffusely scattered light. The measured scattered light intensity as a function of detuning, atomic number, and sample size suggests that collective light scattering depends on the optical depth of the system.
We report an experimental study of near resonance light scattering on the component of the line in atomic . Experiments are performed on spatially bi-Gaussian ultracold gas samples having peak densities ranging from about – atoms/cm and for a range of resonance saturation parameters and detunings from atomic resonance. Time resolution of the scattered light intensity reveals the dynamics of light scattering, optical pumping, and saturation effects. The experimental line shape for optical excitation in steady state is found to be significantly narrower than that for the transition studied previously under similar conditions. This difference is qualitatively reproduced by a theoretical model of the two transitions at similar density.
We report an experimental study of near resonance light scattering on the F=1→F′=0F = 1 \rightarrow F' = 0F=1→F′=0 component of the D2D_2D2​ line in atomic 87Rb^{87}Rb87Rb. Experiments are performed on spatially bi-Gaussian ultracold gas samples having peak densities ranging from about 5⋅1012−5⋅10135 \cdot 10^{12} - 5 \cdot 10^{13}5⋅1012−5⋅1013 atoms/cm3^{3}3 and for a range of resonance saturation parameters and detunings from atomic resonance. Time resolution of the scattered light intensity reveals dynamics of multiple light scattering, optical pumping, and saturation effects. The experimental results in steady-state are compared qualitatively with theoretical models of the light scattering process. The steady-state line shape of the excitation spectrum is in good qualitative agreement with these models.
We measure the coherent scattering of low-intensity, near-resonant light by a cloud of laser-cooled two-level rubidium atoms with a size comparable to the wavelength of light. We isolate a two-level atomic structure by applying a 300-G magnetic field. We measure both the temporal and the steady-state coherent optical response of the cloud for various detunings of the laser and for atom numbers ranging from 5 to 100. We compare our results to a microscopic coupled-dipole model and to a multimode, paraxial Maxwell-Bloch model. In the low-intensity regime, both models are in excellent agreement, thus validating the Maxwell-Bloch model. Comparing to the data, the models are found in very good agreement for relatively low densities ($n/{k}^{3}\ensuremath{\lesssim}0.1$), while significant deviations start to occur at higher density. This disagreement indicates that light scattering in dense, cold atomic ensembles is still not quantitatively understood, even in pristine experimental conditions.
We report measurements of near-resonance light scattering from an ultracold sample of 87Rb^{87}\text{R}\text{b}87Rb atoms formed in a magneto-optical trap (MOT). Time-dependent measurements of scattering of probe radiation tuned in the vicinity of the $F=1\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{F}^{\ensuremath{'}}=0$ hyperfine transition of the D2{D}_{2}D2​ resonance line reveal dynamics due to Zeeman optical pumping on this transition in competition with diffusive light scattering in the optically dense sample. Zeeman mixing effects due to small residual magnetic fields also play an important role in the scattered light dynamics and reveal surprising sensitivity to the field strength. The various processes are examined as a function of probe-laser power, detuning from atomic resonance, and the presence or absence of the spatially inhomogeneous MOT quadrupole field.