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Australian Journal of Physics

Studies Involving the Resonant Interaction of Laser Light with Atoms

W. R. MacGillivray, M. C. Standage

Published Feb 1, 1994• 4 citations
Publisher

Abstract

In this article, we review three areas of study in which the resonant interaction between atoms and laser radiation plays a central role. Firstly, coherent optical transients are discussed in which the direct observation of this interaction can be studied via the detection of the Rabi frequency in optical nutations. Secondly, the response of atoms to resonant radiation in an optical cavity leading to optical bistability and other effects is described. Finally, the new field of atom manipulation by resonant laser fields is introduced, in particular, the deflection of atomic beams. The underlying theoretical framework for the experiments performed is discussed, ranging from full quantum electrodynamic to semiclassical models.

DOI
10.1071/ph940001

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In this article, we review three areas of study in which the resonant interaction between atoms and laser radiation plays a central role. Firstly, coherent optical transients are discussed in which the direct observation of this interaction can be studied via the detection of the Rabi frequency in optical nutations. Secondly, the response of atoms to resonant radiation in an optical cavity leading to optical bistability and other effects is described. Finally, the new field of atom manipulation by resonant laser fields is introduced, in particular, the deflection of atomic beams. The underlying theoretical framework for the experiments performed is discussed, ranging from full quantum electrodynamic to semiclassical models.
The interaction of near-resonant laser radiation with atoms immersed in a magnetic B\mathbf{B}B field is calculated using a quantum electrodynamic model. In this model, the magnetic field is assumed to produce a small perturbation such that the degeneracy of the magnetic substates is lifted while maintaining the usual quantum numbers that define the states (the Zeeman effect). The laser radiation is considered to have a narrow bandwidth and to be temporally and spatially coherent. The model produces three general coupled differential equations that describe the state populations and their relative coherences and the optical coherences between levels coupled by the laser radiation. The model can therefore be directly applied to different experiments ranging from atom trapping and cooling experiments through to collision experiments carried out in magnetic and laser fields.
The review describes and interprets the basic phenomena recently observed in the interaction between free atoms and laser radiation. Some of these have been known for a long time in magnetic resonance but in the optical range, the situation is strongly modified because of spontaneous emission and the Doppler effect. Therefore, particular attention is paid to resonance fluorescence and Doppler-free spectroscopy but without dwelling on applications. Transient effects are also discussed, but all the phenomena which characterize, not specifically the interaction between atoms and fields, but the free evolution of atoms after coherent excitation are ignored. Pulse propagation experiments are described in detail and multiphoton processes are considered, with special emphasis on Doppler-free multiphoton excitation and resonant multiphoton ionization.
In this paper, recent experiments performed in our laboratory are reviewed, which deal with the investigation of quantum phenomena in the radiation interaction of single atoms. The first part describes experiments in single mode cavities, using the one-atom maser or micro maser, and in the second part experiments with ion traps are summarized. The latter experiments concentrate on the investigation of resonance fluorescence. In addition, new experimental proposals using ultracold atoms in cavities and traps are discussed. In those future experiments the interplay between atomic waves and light waves is important, leading to new phenomena in radiation-atom interaction, such as the modification of the Rabi vacuum splitting.
We present various experiments involving Rydberg atoms interacting with resonant microwave electromagnetic fields inside a cavity, allowing to check different features of the theory presented in the previous paper. We first describe experiments about superradiant emission by Rydberg states in the cavity, also called transient Rydberg atoms maser ; the evolution of the system is detected either on the populations by selective field ionization technique or on the microwave field itself by heterodyne detection. Very low thresholds, down to 100 atoms, for the maser emission have been observed. We then describe various aspects of collective absorption of radiation by very excited atoms including the observation of Rabi nutation in a small applied resonant field, the study of the quantum efficiency of this set-up considered as a microwave photon counter, and finally the unexpected characteristics of the blackbody radiation absorption in the cavity.
The forces acting on interacting moving atoms exposed to resonant laser radiation are calculated. It is shown that the forces acting on the atoms include the radiation pressure forces as well as the external and internal bias forces. The dependences of the forces on the atomic spacing, polarization, and laser radiation frequency are given. It is found that the internal bias force associated with the interaction of atomic dipoles via the reemitted field may play an important role in the dynamics of dense atomic ensembles in a light field. It is shown that optical size resonances appear in the system of interacting atoms at frequencies differing substantially from transition frequencies in the spectrum of atoms. It is noted that optical size resonances as well as the Doppler frequency shift in the spectrum of interacting atoms play a significant role in the processes of laser-radiation-controlled motion of the atoms.
This review deals with the problem of selective detection of single atoms by laser radiaton. It begins with a classification of the detection methods (fluorescence, photoionization, deflection), discusses detection conditions (atomic vapor, atomic beam, buffer gas), and gives estimates of the parameters of laser radiation ensuring effective detection. Next, a detailed comparision is made of each of the detection methods. It is shown that in the fluorescence method the maximum efficiency of the detection process is achieved for cyclic interaction of atoms with laser radiation. In the photoionization method the most suitable technique is multistage photoionization of atoms by laser radiation. The highest ionization selectivity and a high efficiency are obtained by multistage excitation of an atom either to a Rydberg state followed by ionization with an electric field pulse or to a narrow autoionizing state with a large excitation cross section. Both these techniques are considered from the point of view of the sources of background and ways of discriminating against it, detection selectivity, and absolute sensitivity; the experimental results are analyzed. In discussing the deflection method consideration is given to deflection of an atom in a magnetic field after excitation with laser radiation and to deflection of atoms by resonant optical pressure. The review concludes with a brief discussion of the prospective applications of these detection methods in nuclear physics, atomic physics, and chemistry.