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AIP conference proceedings

Two step resonances in a Rb magneto-optical trap

C. Gabbanini, A. Evangelista, Silvia Gozzini, A. Lucchesini

Published Jan 1, 1997• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We show two color spectroscopic measurements that we have done on cold rubidium atoms confined in a magneto-optic trap. The measurements have been done on both Rb isotopes by exciting the 8s1/2, 5d3/2, and 5d5/2 states from the trapping 5p3/2 level. The obtained lineshapes show the presence of the Autler-Townes splitting induced by the strong trapping laser. The hyperfine constants of the 5d levels have been derived.

DOI
10.1063/1.51860

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Optics Letters•Sep 1, 1993•52 citations
We show two color spectroscopic measurements that we have done on cold rubidium atoms confined in a magneto-optic trap. The measurements have been done on both Rb isotopes by exciting the 8s1/2, 5d3/2, and 5d5/2 states from the trapping 5p3/2 level. The obtained lineshapes show the presence of the Autler-Townes splitting induced by the strong trapping laser. The hyperfine constants of the 5d levels have been derived.
The interaction of light with atoms and molecules is of fundamental interest in many branches of science. In atomic physics, this interaction can be used to cool and spatially confine (trap) atoms. These traps can be used as the starting point for other experiments, but the dynamics of the cooling and trapping processes is itself of interest. In order to better understand the physics of trapping atoms in an optical dipole force trap, we have conducted a series of spectroscopic measurements of ultracold rubidium atoms in such a trap. The trap was created at the focus of a Nd:YAG laser beam with wavelength 1064nm and nearly Gaussian spatial mode. For rubidium, the trap light is red-detuned and the atoms are confined to the highest intensity in the beam. In order to probe the atoms confined in the trap, we have performed spectroscopy on the 5S1/2 → 5P3/2 transition. Because the polarizability of the ground and excited states is not the same at the trap wavelength, the spectra exhibit both a shift and inhomogeneous broadening. We have investigated the spectra for both linear and circular polarized traps. We also studied the application of a second laser to couple the excited state (5P3/2) to another higher excited state (5D5/2) to reduce the inhomogeneous broadening of the 5S1/2 → 5P 3/2 transition. Finally, two-photon spectroscopy was performed on atoms in the dipole force trap and compared to spectra taken in a magneto optical trap (MOT). Autler-Townes splitting was clearly observed in the MOT and appears to have been observed in the dipole force trap also.
Abstract Results of spectroscopy experiments using the 5 P 3 / 2 → 6 P 3 / 2 electric dipole forbidden transition in cold rubidium atoms are presented. Production of this forbidden transition is detected by observing the emission of the 420 nm fluorescence photons that result from the decay of the 6 P 3 / 2 state into the ground state. The experiments are performed under the steady state operation conditions of a magneto-optical trap (MOT), and thus provide non-perturbing information on the atom-light system. The hyperfine structure of the 6 P 3 / 2 level is completely resolved, and the fluorescence peaks show the expected Autler–Townes (AT) splitting of the emission lines. This hyperfine structure is used to calibrate the frequency scale of all spectra recorded. A combination of this absolute frequency scale and an expression for the AT profile allows an absolute determination of the effective Rabi frequency and detuning of the MOT. The behavior of these AT doublets is studied as a function of frequency detuning and also as a function of the trapping light intensity. The experiments also take full advantage of the strong polarization dependence of the relative intensities of the hyperfine fluorescence components. This study results in a sensitive probe of the relative populations of the magnetic sublevel projections relative to the trapping magnetic field gradient. An almost isotropic population distribution was found, but small deviations from isotropy could be determined with this electric dipole forbidden probe.
We report measurements of collisional rate constants for cold Rb atoms held in a magneto-optical trap. 85Rb^{85}\mathrm{Rb}85Rb and 87Rb^{87}\mathrm{Rb}87Rb display significantly different behavior. At low trap laser intensities, atoms which undergo a hyperfine-changing collision gain sufficient velocity to escape the trap. Since the hyperfine splittings are quite different for the isotopes, the loss rates display a large isotopic dependence in this regime. At higher trap laser intensities, where trap loss is due to inelastic collisions involving excited atoms, a dramatic and unexpected isotopic dependence is seen. Under identical conditions, the loss rate for 85Rb^{85}\mathrm{Rb}85Rb is 3.3 times that of 87Rb^{87}\mathrm{Rb}87Rb.
This paper presents a general review of the results of the experimental and theoretical work carried out by our research group to study the 5P3/2→6PJ electric quadrupole transition in atomic rubidium. The experiments were carried out with room-temperature atoms in an absorption cell. A steady-state population of atoms in the 5P3/2 excited state is produced by a a narrow-bandwidth preparation laser locked to the D2 transition. A second CW laser is used to produce the forbidden transition with resolution of the 6PJ hyperfine states of both rubidium isotopes. The process is detected by recording the 420(422) nm fluorescence that occurs when the atoms in the 6PJ state decay directly into the 5S ground state. The fluorescence spectra show a strong dependence on the relative polarization directions of the preparation laser and the beam producing the forbidden transition. This dependence is directly related to a strong anisotropy in the populations of the 5P3/2 intermediate magnetic substates, and also to the electric quadrupole selection rules over magnetic quantum numbers. A calculation based on the rate equations that includes velocity and detuning dependent transition rates is adequate to reproduce these results. The forbidden transition is also shown to be an ideal probe to measure the Autler–Townes splitting generated in the preparation of the 5P3/2 state. Examples of spectra obtained with cold atoms in a magneto-optical trap (MOT) are also presented. These spectra show the expected Autler–Townes doublet structure with asymmetric line profiles that result as a consequence of the red-detuning of the trapping laser in the MOT.