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Physical Review Letters

Polarization Rotation Induced by Resonant Two-Photon Dispersion

P. F. Liao, Gary C. Bjorklund

Published Mar 15, 1976• 90 citations
Publisher

Abstract

A polarization-rotation effect is demonstrated which utilizes the dispersion associated with $3S\ensuremath{-}5S$ two-photon transitions in sodium vapor. A linearly polarized beam at ${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{1}$ is rotated by a circularly polarized beam at ${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{2}$ when ${\ensuremath{\nu}}_{1}+{\ensuremath{\nu}}_{2}$ is near the two-photon transition frequency. When combined with a polarizer a rapid optical shutter is obtained.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.36.584

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Physical Review Letters•Mar 25, 1974•285 citations
A polarization-rotation effect is demonstrated which utilizes the dispersion associated with 3S\ensuremath−5S3S\ensuremath{-}5S3S\ensuremath−5S two-photon transitions in sodium vapor. A linearly polarized beam at \ensuremathν1{\ensuremath{\nu}}_{1}\ensuremathν1​ is rotated by a circularly polarized beam at \ensuremathν2{\ensuremath{\nu}}_{2}\ensuremathν2​ when \ensuremathν1+\ensuremathν2{\ensuremath{\nu}}_{1}+{\ensuremath{\nu}}_{2}\ensuremathν1​+\ensuremathν2​ is near the two-photon transition frequency. When combined with a polarizer a rapid optical shutter is obtained.
Polarization rotation effects in atomic sodium vapor are studied both experimentally and theoretically. Two pulsed dye laser beams propagate collinearly through a cell containing sodium vapor. The direction of polarization of a linearly polarized dye laser beam of frequency ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{1}$ is found to be rotated by a circularly polarized beam of frequency ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{2}$. This rotation is due to the difference in refractive index at ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{1}$ for right and left circularly polarized light which is produced by the circularly polarized beam. When ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{1}+{\ensuremath{\omega}}_{2}$ is tuned near the $3S\ensuremath{-}5S$ two-photon transition of atomic sodium, this difference is primarily due to the dispersion associated with the two-photon transition. Other sources of polarization rotation which were identified include (i) real transfers of population to excited atomic levels due to collisionally induced transitions and (ii) optically induced atomic energy-level shifts. The theory includes both the effects of two-photon dispersion and optically induced energy shifts. The application of the two-photon polarization rotation effect as a fast, optically controlled shutter or modulator and as a sensitive detection technique for two-photon spectroscopy are briefly discussed.
In a hot sodium atomic vapor, we report the observation of electromagnetically induced polarization rotation (EIPR) in the 3S1/2-3P1/2-4D3/2 and 3S1/2-3P3/2-4D3/2,5/2 three-level ladder transitions, where a weak probe beam and a strong coupling beam are resonant to the lower and the upper transition, respectively. The EIPR spectra exhibited a unique double-dispersion feature, which was more pronounced for the higher coupling powers. The maximum rotation angle was 18 deg. Optical switch experiment based on EIPR gave a fast response time of less than 100 ns.
We show that for a broad range of intensities the polarization ellipse of a laser beam can undergo rotation while propagating through an atomic vapor. The ellipse rotation is predicted to occur for the case in which the field is tuned near a J = 1/2 to J-1/2 transition of the atomic vapor and the input intensity is sufficiently strong to saturate the ground-state optical pumping but not the transition itself. Under these conditions, the ellipse rotation is independent of the laser intensity and, hence, is unlike the ellipse rotation predicted and observed by Maker and Terhune1 for a tensor nonlinear susceptibility.
Two intersecting laser beams of orthogonal circular polarization near resonant to the homogeneously broadened D1 transition of Na vapor were observed to deflect each other upon contact. The experimental results are in good agreement with calculations based on a model which includes diffraction and a local nonlinear atomic susceptibility wihch fully takes into account saturation and optical pumping effects. The contact deflection (or ``bouncing'') was also observed when both beams were tuned to the atomic resonance frequency.
The $3S\ensuremath{-}5S$ transition of Na atoms is induced by absorption of two photons, one each from two circularly polarized beams traveling in opposite directions through the vapor. The beams are derived from a tunable, narrow-band pulsed dye laser. Doppler broadening is absent and the hyperfine structure is resolved. The hyperfine interaction constant A5S{A}_{5S}A5S​ in the 5S5S5S state of the Na23{\mathrm{Na}}^{23}Na23 atom is determined to be 101\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}15 MHz.