Europhysics Letters (EPL)
Steady state of atoms in a monochromatic elliptically polarized light field
Gerard Nienhuis, А. В. Тайченачев, Anatolii M Tumaikin, Valeriy I. Yudin
Abstract
An analytical and invariant expression is given for the steady-state density matrix of free atoms in a monochromatic radiation field with arbitrary intensity and arbitrary elliptical polarization. The field drives the closed transition F → F + 1, with arbitrary values of F . This is the only class of transitions where a closed analytical expression for the steady state was lacking. Some applications of this result are indicated.