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arXiv:2607.15088 · Journal of the Optical Society of America B

Transformation of vector modes by the Faraday effect in strong magnetic fields

Sphinx J. Svensson, Craig J. A. Millar, Danielle Pizzey, Ifan G. Hughes, Sonja Franke‐Arnold

Published Sep 4, 2026• 0 citations

Abstract

Large Faraday rotations can be generated by circular birefringence of atomic samples in an axial magnetic field in the vicinity of atomic resonance lines. More generally, magneto-optical effects in atomic samples include circular dichroism in addition to birefringence, resulting in a modification of the ellipticity as well as the polarization alignment. Usually such effects are investigated for homogeneous linear polarizations, but the mechanisms apply also to polarization structures such as vector vortices. We investigate the effect of optical activity of a rubidium vapor in the hyperfine Paschen–Back regime along the D2 line, for the example of azimuthally polarized input light. We show that for low atomic densities, circular birefringence dominates over dichroism, and azimuthal polarization is rotated toward radial polarization. The rotation angle increases with increasing optical densities. At high vapor temperatures, dichroism becomes more and more relevant, leading to intricate variations of both alignment and ellipticity. Our results shine new light on the interplay between different magneto-optic effects at strong magnetic fields. Their highly sensitive response to detuning may find applications in spectroscopy and quantum sensing.

DOI: 10.1364/josab.611461

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Nonlinear resonances in alkali metal vapor, which are detected by the magneto-optical rotation of the linear polarization of light, are actively used in quantum magnetometry to fabricate atomic magnetometers. The magneto-optical rotation in most such sensors is due to magnetic birefringence, and rotation angles usually do not exceed tens of milliradians. In this work, an experiment where magneto-optical resonances of linear polarization rotation of a probe wave are due to strong dichroism induced in a medium by a counterpropagating pump wave has been proposed. Both waves are in resonance with the Fg = 2 → Fe = 1 optical transition in the 87Rb D1 line (λ ≈ 795 nm). Experiments have been carried out with a 2-cm-long cylindrical cell filled with a buffer gas, and the maximum rotation angle is ≈390 mrad (22°) at a width of resonance of about 300 nT. The results show that the configuration proposed for the observation of magneto-optical rotation is promising for the fabrication of compact high-sensitivity atomic magnetometers.

Nonlinear resonances in alkali metal vapor, which are detected by the magneto-optical rotation of the linear polarization of light, are actively used in quantum magnetometry to fabricate atomic magnetometers. The magneto-optical rotation in most such sensors is due to magnetic birefringence, and rotation angles usually do not exceed tens of milliradians. In this work, an experiment where magneto-optical resonances of linear polarization rotation of a probe wave are due to strong dichroism induced in a medium by a counterpropagating pump wave has been proposed. Both waves are in resonance with the Fg = 2 → Fe = 1 optical transition in the 87Rb D1 line (λ ≈ 795 nm). Experiments have been carried out with a 2-cm-long cylindrical cell filled with a buffer gas, and the maximum rotation angle is ≈390 mrad (22°) at a width of resonance of about 300 nT. The results show that the configuration proposed for the observation of magneto-optical rotation is promising for the fabrication of compact high-sensitivity atomic magnetometers.

We report our study of the magneto-optical effect in a strictly linear regime on spin-polarized cold cesium atoms. Due to the low intensity and the short illumination period of the probe beam, less than 7.5% of the sample atoms change their states by absorbing probe photons. We produce a medium of atoms at rest in either the

6{S}_{1∕2},F=3,{m}_{F}=0

or

6{S}_{1∕2},F=3,{m}_{F}=3

state by optically pumping atoms trapped in a magneto-optical trap. We use the

D1

resonance with large lower and upper state hyperfine splittings as a probe transition to avoid hyperfine mixing from the Zeeman interaction. Under this idealized situation we measure the Stokes parameters in order to find the polarization rotation and circular dichroism experienced by the probe light. We find that there are qualitative differences between the results for the

{m}_{F}=0

and

{m}_{F}=3

cases. While dispersion and consequent Faraday rotation play a dominant role when the atoms are in the

{m}_{F}=0

state, it is dissipation and circular dichroism that are important when they are in the

{m}_{F}=3

state. Similarly, while the size of the Faraday rotation and the circular dichroism for the

{m}_{F}=0

case scales linearly with the applied magnetic field, for the

{m}_{F}=3

case it is the shift of the probe polarization change versus frequency that is linearly proportional to the magnetic field strength.

Nonlinear in laser power, near-resonant light-atom interaction leads to a number of spectacular modifications of a well-known effect -polarization plane rotation in a magnetic field applied along the direction of light propagation.In particular, the rotation can be enhanced by up to nine orders of magnitude compared to the linear case.Faraday effect [ 1 ] is the rotation of the plane of linear light polarization by a medium in a magnetic field applied in the direction of light propagation.In 1898, Macaluso and Corbino eJ, studying absorption spectra of the alkali atoms in the presence of magnetic fields, discovered that the Faraday effect in the vicinity of resonance absorption lines also had a distinct resonant character.The essence of the Macaluso-Corbino effect can be illustrated by considering a simple case of a F= 1 ~ F'=O transition (Fig. 1 ).Linearly polarized light incident on the sample can be resolved into two counter-rotating circular components ( cr~.In the absence of a magnetic field, the M=±l sublevels are degenerate and the optical resonance