Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

AIP conference proceedings

Nuclear spin polarization induced by ultrashort laser pulses

Takashi Nakajima

Published Jan 1, 2007• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We theoretically show that the use of the hyperfine interaction together with a static electric field leads to ultrafast nuclear spin polarization. The idea is specifically applied to the isotopes of alkaline‐earth atoms such as 27Mg (I = 1/2) and 37 Ca (I = 3/2), and we find that spin polarization as high as 88 % and 62 %, respectively, can be attained within the time scale of a few to tens of ns. This technique can be very effective not only for stable nuclei but also unstable nuclei.

DOI
10.1063/1.2750942

Related papers

Ultrafast nuclear spin polarization for isotopes with large nuclear spin

Takashi Nakajima

We theoretically investigate the temporal dynamics of nuclear spin induced by short laser pulses. To realize ultrafast nuclear spin polarization, we coherently excite the hyperfine manifolds and let it evolve in time. An appropriate choice of the state with large hyperfine splittings allows us to realize ultrafast nuclear spin polarization. As specific examples, we consider the various isotopes of Mg and Ca with different values of nuclear spin (1/2, 3/2, 5/2, and 7/2) and show that 89%, 76%, 49%, and 36% of nuclear spin polarization can be achieved, respectively, within a few nanoseconds, which is at least 2 to 3 orders of magnitude shorter than the time needed for any known optical methods. Because of its ultrafast nature, our scheme would be very effective not only for stable nuclei but also unstable nuclei with a lifetime as short as 1 μs.

Journal of the Optical Society of America B•Mar 3, 2009•2 citations

Laser preparation of spin-polarized atoms from molecular photodissociation

L. Rubio Lago, Dimitris Sofikitis, Antonis Koubenakis +1 more

We discuss how nuclear spin can be highly polarized from the transfer of molecular rotational polarization via the hyperfine interaction, and how large atomic electronic polarization can be produced via molecular photodissociation with polarized light. In combination, these two pulsed-laser techniques can be used to produce highly polarized atoms at densities close to the density of the parent molecules. We compare these methods to existing methods for producing polarized atoms and present specific examples.

Physica Scripta•Dec 22, 2005•4 citations

Optical nuclear spin polarization in quantum dots

Ai-Xian Li, Suqing Duan, Wei Zhang

Hyperfine interaction between electron spin and randomly oriented nuclear spins is a key issue of electron coherence for quantum information/computation. We propose an efficient way to establish high polarization of nuclear spins and reduce the intrinsic nuclear spin fluctuations. Here, we polarize the nuclear spins in semiconductor quantum dot (QD) by the coherent population trapping (CPT) and the electric dipole spin resonance (EDSR) induced by optical fields and ac electric fields. By tuning the optical fields, we can obtain a powerful cooling background based on CPT for nuclear spin polarization. The EDSR can enhance the spin flip–flop rate which may increase the cooling efficiency. With the help of CPT and EDSR, an enhancement of 1300 times of the electron coherence time can be obtained after a 10-ns preparation time.

Chinese Physics B•Sep 23, 2016•1 citation

Nuclear spin effects in optical lattice clocks

Martin M. Boyd, Tanya Zelevinsky, Andrew D. Ludlow +4 more

We present a detailed experimental and theoretical study of the effect of nuclear spin on the performance of optical lattice clocks. With a state-mixing theory including spin-orbit and hyperfine interactions, we describe the origin of the $^{1}S_{0}\text{\ensuremath{-}}^{3}P_{0}$ clock transition and the differential $g$ factor between the two clock states for alkaline-earth-metal(-like) atoms, using $^{87}\mathrm{Sr}$ as an example. Clock frequency shifts due to magnetic and optical fields are discussed with an emphasis on those relating to nuclear structure. An experimental determination of the differential $g$ factor in $^{87}\mathrm{Sr}$ is performed and is in good agreement with theory. The magnitude of the tensor light shift on the clock states is also explored experimentally. State specific measurements with controlled nuclear spin polarization are discussed as a method to reduce the nuclear spin-related systematic effects to below ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}17}$ in lattice clocks.

arXiv:0704.0912•Physical Review A•Aug 29, 2007•186 citations

Nuclear Polarization by Intense Laser Pulses

Anonymous, Tao Li, Xu Wang

Nuclear polarization plays an essential role in precision measurements, symmetry tests, and emerging quantum technologies, yet efficient polarization of heavy nuclei remains a major challenge. We propose an efficient, intense-laser-based approach that achieves high-efficiency polarization of heavy nuclei through the nonlinear interaction of circularly polarized femtosecond laser pulses with hydrogenlike ions. This scheme enables rapid transfer of angular momentum from light to the nucleus. Numerical simulations show that a single pulse can generate polarization exceeding 10%, while a pulse sequence can drive the system to near-unity polarization. The method is broadly applicable to heavy ions with large hyperfine splittings, as demonstrated for ^{229}Th, ^{205}Pb, and ^{209}Bi. The ability to produce near-complete polarization of large-spin nuclei and heavy ions opens new avenues for nuclear physics and nucleus-based quantum technologies.

Physical Review Letters•Sep 9, 2026•0 citations

On the possibility of polarizing atoms and nuclei by pulsed electromagnetic fields without using ultra-low temperatures

David F. Zaretsky, S. B. Sazonov

A method is proposed for fast and deep polarization of the system of hyperfine sublevels of the ground state of an atom having an optical excited state by means of two-component microwave pulses. The pulse of the bichromatic optical field that induces the transitions between the ground state and excited state of the atom is supposed to provide coherence among the hyperfine sublevels of the atomic ground state via the effect of coherent population trapping. The subsequent resonance microwave pulses create the polarization of equally populated ground state sublevels of the atom. The proposed polarization technique may be used for designing the new schemes of quantum computers, for the pulse transformation in optical experiments when light passes through a resonant medium containing rear-earth ions, as well as for producing polarized nuclear targets.

Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Physics Letters•Sep 1, 2007•0 citations
We theoretically show that the use of the hyperfine interaction together with a static electric field leads to ultrafast nuclear spin polarization. The idea is specifically applied to the isotopes of alkaline‐earth atoms such as 27Mg (I = 1/2) and 37 Ca (I = 3/2), and we find that spin polarization as high as 88 % and 62 %, respectively, can be attained within the time scale of a few to tens of ns. This technique can be very effective not only for stable nuclei but also unstable nuclei.
We theoretically investigate the temporal dynamics of nuclear spin induced by short laser pulses. To realize ultrafast nuclear spin polarization, we coherently excite the hyperfine manifolds and let it evolve in time. An appropriate choice of the state with large hyperfine splittings allows us to realize ultrafast nuclear spin polarization. As specific examples, we consider the various isotopes of Mg and Ca with different values of nuclear spin (1/2, 3/2, 5/2, and 7/2) and show that 89%, 76%, 49%, and 36% of nuclear spin polarization can be achieved, respectively, within a few nanoseconds, which is at least 2 to 3 orders of magnitude shorter than the time needed for any known optical methods. Because of its ultrafast nature, our scheme would be very effective not only for stable nuclei but also unstable nuclei with a lifetime as short as 1 μs.
We discuss how nuclear spin can be highly polarized from the transfer of molecular rotational polarization via the hyperfine interaction, and how large atomic electronic polarization can be produced via molecular photodissociation with polarized light. In combination, these two pulsed-laser techniques can be used to produce highly polarized atoms at densities close to the density of the parent molecules. We compare these methods to existing methods for producing polarized atoms and present specific examples.
Hyperfine interaction between electron spin and randomly oriented nuclear spins is a key issue of electron coherence for quantum information/computation. We propose an efficient way to establish high polarization of nuclear spins and reduce the intrinsic nuclear spin fluctuations. Here, we polarize the nuclear spins in semiconductor quantum dot (QD) by the coherent population trapping (CPT) and the electric dipole spin resonance (EDSR) induced by optical fields and ac electric fields. By tuning the optical fields, we can obtain a powerful cooling background based on CPT for nuclear spin polarization. The EDSR can enhance the spin flip–flop rate which may increase the cooling efficiency. With the help of CPT and EDSR, an enhancement of 1300 times of the electron coherence time can be obtained after a 10-ns preparation time.
We present a detailed experimental and theoretical study of the effect of nuclear spin on the performance of optical lattice clocks. With a state-mixing theory including spin-orbit and hyperfine interactions, we describe the origin of the $^{1}S_{0}\text{\ensuremath{-}}^{3}P_{0}$ clock transition and the differential ggg factor between the two clock states for alkaline-earth-metal(-like) atoms, using 87Sr^{87}\mathrm{Sr}87Sr as an example. Clock frequency shifts due to magnetic and optical fields are discussed with an emphasis on those relating to nuclear structure. An experimental determination of the differential ggg factor in 87Sr^{87}\mathrm{Sr}87Sr is performed and is in good agreement with theory. The magnitude of the tensor light shift on the clock states is also explored experimentally. State specific measurements with controlled nuclear spin polarization are discussed as a method to reduce the nuclear spin-related systematic effects to below ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}17}$ in lattice clocks.
Nuclear polarization plays an essential role in precision measurements, symmetry tests, and emerging quantum technologies, yet efficient polarization of heavy nuclei remains a major challenge. We propose an efficient, intense-laser-based approach that achieves high-efficiency polarization of heavy nuclei through the nonlinear interaction of circularly polarized femtosecond laser pulses with hydrogenlike ions. This scheme enables rapid transfer of angular momentum from light to the nucleus. Numerical simulations show that a single pulse can generate polarization exceeding 10%, while a pulse sequence can drive the system to near-unity polarization. The method is broadly applicable to heavy ions with large hyperfine splittings, as demonstrated for ^{229}Th, ^{205}Pb, and ^{209}Bi. The ability to produce near-complete polarization of large-spin nuclei and heavy ions opens new avenues for nuclear physics and nucleus-based quantum technologies.
A method is proposed for fast and deep polarization of the system of hyperfine sublevels of the ground state of an atom having an optical excited state by means of two-component microwave pulses. The pulse of the bichromatic optical field that induces the transitions between the ground state and excited state of the atom is supposed to provide coherence among the hyperfine sublevels of the atomic ground state via the effect of coherent population trapping. The subsequent resonance microwave pulses create the polarization of equally populated ground state sublevels of the atom. The proposed polarization technique may be used for designing the new schemes of quantum computers, for the pulse transformation in optical experiments when light passes through a resonant medium containing rear-earth ions, as well as for producing polarized nuclear targets.