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arXiv:2104.10473 · Physical Review Research

Detection of spin coherence in cold atoms via Faraday rotation fluctuations

Maheswar Swar, Dibyendu Roy, Subhajit Bhar, Sanjukta Roy, Saptarishi Chaudhuri

Published Dec 10, 2021• 19 citations
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Abstract

We report noninvasive detection of spin coherence in a collection of Raman-driven cold atoms using dispersive Faraday rotation fluctuation measurements, which opens possibilities of probing spin correlations in quantum gases and other similar systems. We demonstrate five orders of magnitude enhancement of the measured signal strength as compared to traditional spin noise spectroscopy with thermal atoms in equilibrium. Our observations are in good agreement with the comprehensive theoretical modeling of the driven atoms at various temperatures. The extracted spin relaxation rate of cold rubidium atoms with atom number density $\ensuremath{\sim}10{\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}}^{9}/{\mathrm{cm}}^{3}$ is of the order of $3\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}10{\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}}^{3}\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}{\mathrm{s}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ at 150 $\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{K}$, two orders of magnitude less than $3\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}10{\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}}^{5}\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}{\mathrm{s}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ of that of a thermal atomic vapor with atom number density $\ensuremath{\sim}10{\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}}^{12}/{\mathrm{cm}}^{3}$ at 373 K.

DOI
10.1103/physrevresearch.3.043171

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We explore the applications of spin noise spectroscopy (SNS) for detection of the spin properties of atomic ensembles in and out of equilibrium. In SNS, a linearly polarized far-detuned probe beam on passing through an ensemble of atomic spins acquires the information of the spin correlations of the system which is extracted using its time-resolved Faraday-rotation noise. We measure various atomic, magnetic and sub-atomic properties as well as perform precision magnetometry using SNS in rubidium atomic vapor in thermal equilibrium. Thereafter, we manipulate the relative spin populations between different ground state hyperfine levels of rubidium by controlled optical pumping which drives the system out of equilibrium. We then apply SNS to probe such spin imbalance non-perturbatively. We further use this driven atomic vapor to demonstrate that SNS can have better resolution than typical absorption spectroscopy in detecting spectral lines in the presence of various spectral broadening mechanisms.
We describe a relatively non-invasive optical spectroscopy technique, known as spin noise spectroscopy (SNS), to probe spontaneous magnetization fluctuations in an alkali atomic vapor at thermal equilibrium. The atomic magnetization at a non-zero temperature fluctuates about its equilibrium value, and such magnetization (spin) noise imparts fluctuation in the measured Faraday rotation of a far-detuned, linearly polarized probe laser beam passing through the vapor. This Faraday rotation fluctuation reveals the intrinsic spin dynamics of the electrons in the alkali vapor. We present a systematic experimental study of the SNS realized in thermal rubidium vapor and illustrate how one can measure various magnetic and chemical properties of the sample with minimal perturbation. We also demonstrate the applicability of this spectroscopy technique in measuring the spin populations and their dynamics in different hyperfine and magnetic levels by optically pumping the atomic system.
Central spin decoherence is useful for detecting many-body physics in environments and moreover, the spin echo control can remove the effects of static thermal fluctuations so that the quantum fluctuations are revealed. The central spin decoherence approach, however, is feasible only in some special configurations and often requires uniform coupling between the central spin and individual spins in the baths, which are very challenging in experiments. Here, by making analogue between central spin decoherence and depolarization of photons, we propose a scheme of Faraday rotation echo spectroscopy (FRES) for studying quantum fluctuations in interacting spin systems. The echo control of the photon polarization is realized by flipping the polarization with a birefringence crystal. The FRES, similar to spin echo in magnetic resonance spectroscopy, can suppress the effects of the static magnetic fluctuations and therefore reveal dynamical magnetic fluctuations. We apply the scheme to a rare-earth compound LiHoF4 and calculate the echo signal, which is related to the quantum fluctuations of the system. We observe enhanced signals at the phase boundary. The FRES should be useful for studying quantum fluctuations in a broad range of spin systems, including cold atoms, quantum dots, solid-state impurities, and transparent magnetic materials.
We demonstrate a minimally perturbative detection method—Raman driven spin noise spectroscopy (RDSNS)—to directly probe the local density of a cloud of cold 39K atoms in real time. The technique relies on detecting the polarization fluctuations of a far-off resonant focused probe light passing through the atoms, driven by two coherent Raman lasers connecting adjacent Zeeman spin states. This is an easily implementable scheme with a wide-ranging applicability in detecting cold atoms. Unlike traditional fluorescence and absorption imaging techniques, this approach does not require stochastic photon scattering from trapped atoms, thereby leaving the cold cloud unperturbed. The data can be collected in MHz refresh rate, allowing for near real-time detection. We validated this technique by monitoring the strength of the RDSNS signal by varying the key parameters of the three-dimensional magneto-optical trap (MOT) and the cold atom source (two-dimensional MOT). We performed experiments to probe local densities across the cold atom cloud using our technique and compared it with the inverse Abel-transformed density profiles extracted from the fluorescence of a spherically symmetric atomic cloud and found excellent agreement. This detection protocol is particularly advantageous for probing systems that lack inherent symmetry, where the Abel transformation is inapplicable. Moreover, RDSNS imaging is suitable for extracting the dynamical properties of systems in real time.
We report the development and performance of an atomic magnetometer (AM) utilizing the Raman-driven spin noise spectroscopy (RDSNS) technique, which measures the intrinsic spin fluctuations of an atomic medium subjected to a coherent two-photon optical drive. The RDSNS signal is noninvasively detected using a far-off resonant weak probe light utilizing a polarimetric detection scheme. This overcomes the limitations of the small dynamic range and low bandwidth of traditional optically pumped magnetometers (OPMs) or AMs operating in the spin exchange relaxation-free (SERF) regime. We experimentally demonstrate, using both paraffin-coated and buffer-gas-filled vapor cell containing neutral rubidium atoms, that the dynamic range of such magnetometers can reach beyond 150 G while maintaining a dc magnetometer resolution of around 30 pT and a magnetic noise sensitivity of around30 pT/Hz30~\text {pT}/\sqrt {\text {Hz}}30 pT/Hz​at a bandwidth of 100 Hz and a magnetic field of about 0.6 mT. Being an all-optical setup, this instrument is largely immune to interference with stray radio frequency fields and has the potential to be miniaturized and field deployable. One of the practical applications would be to measure variations in geomagnetic fields precisely without having to shield the magnetometer.
Highly sensitive Faraday rotation spectroscopy is used to measure the fluctuating magnetization noise of noninteracting rubidium atoms under resonant and nonresonant optical probing conditions. The spin-noise frequency spectra, in conjunction with the probe light detuning with respect to the D2{D}_{2}D2​ transition, reveal clear signatures of coherent coupling of the participating electronic levels. The results are explained by extended Bloch equations, including homogeneous and inhomogeneous broadening mechanisms. Our measurements further indicate that spin noise originating from excited states is governed at high intensities by collective effects.