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Physical Review A

Optically driven spin nutations in the ground state of atomic sodium

Dieter Suter, Martin Rosatzin, J. Mlynek

Published Feb 1, 1990• 23 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We report detailed studies of the dynamic response of spin coherence to a step input of optically resonant narrow-band laser radiation in the presence of a static transverse magnetic field. The evolution of the spins is observed with a cw optical probe beam using polarization-selective detection of the transmitted light. In extension of previous optical-pumping experiments, the dynamics of the system are studied systematically as a function of optical-resonance detuning and intensity. Our experiments are performed on the 3s $^{2}S_{1/2}$ ground state of sodium, using the ${D}_{1}$ line for optical excitation. The experimental data are compared with theoretical predictions based on a Bloch-type equation of motion for an optically driven spin system in a J=(1/2 ground state.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.41.1634

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Journal of the Optical Society of America B•Jan 1, 1991•12 citations
We report detailed studies of the dynamic response of spin coherence to a step input of optically resonant narrow-band laser radiation in the presence of a static transverse magnetic field. The evolution of the spins is observed with a cw optical probe beam using polarization-selective detection of the transmitted light. In extension of previous optical-pumping experiments, the dynamics of the system are studied systematically as a function of optical-resonance detuning and intensity. Our experiments are performed on the 3s 2S1/2^{2}S_{1/2}2S1/2​ ground state of sodium, using the D1{D}_{1}D1​ line for optical excitation. The experimental data are compared with theoretical predictions based on a Bloch-type equation of motion for an optically driven spin system in a J=(1/2 ground state.
We report detailed studies of freely evolving Zeeman coherence (Zeeman quantum beats) observed after optically pumping a gas of Na atoms and suddenly turning off the light field. This Zeeman coherence corresponds to a macroscopic magnetization that precesses in an external magnetic field; it is detected with a cw optical probe beam by using polarization-selective detection of the transmitted light. The amplitude and the phase of the signal show a pronounced variation with laser intensity, laser detuning, and the strength of the magnetic field. This dependence was measured on the 3s2S1/2 ground state of sodium, using the D1 line for optical excitation and detection. The experimental data are compared with theoretical predictions based on a Bloch-type equation of motion for an optically driven spin system in a J = 1/2 ground state.
We describe a simple nonlinear optical device which transforms an ingoing cw light beam into a periodically modulated one. The mechanism of operation is due to a spin precession in the ground state of optically pumped atoms with a J=(1/2)\ensuremath{\rightarrow}J'=(1/2) transition in the presence of a static transverse magnetic field. With optical feedback from a resonator, this magnetically induced spin precession can be self-sustained and then can give rise to a self-pulsing of the transmitted light at roughly the Larmor frequency. A detailed theoretical description of the system is presented and stability criteria are considered. In contrast to earlier work, our calculations take into account the resonator round-trip time, an optical detuning from the atomic resonance, and absorptive losses within the resonator. New signal features are predicted: These include a complicated structure of the initial transient as well as a precipitation to a stationary state. Our theoretical model is confirmed by measurements which are performed by means of a Fabry-Perot resonator containing sodium vapor. The behavior of the device is studied for a wide range of experimental parameters; threshold powers for oscillation (\ensuremath{\gtrsim}5 mW) and the oscillation frequency and its tuning range (140 kHz--13 MHz) are investigated as well as the dynamics of the system following a step input of light.
We have experimentally and theoretically investigated the behavior of Na atoms under the combined influence of resonant laser light and a magnetic field. Linearly polarized light was tuned to the (3s) 2{\mathrm{}}^{2}2S1/2{S}_{1/2}S1/2​ (F=2)\ensuremath{\rightarrow}(3p) 2{\mathrm{}}^{2}2P1/2{P}_{1/2}P1/2​ (F'=1) component of the D1{D}_{1}D1​ line. The intensity of fluorescent light was observed as a function of the laser intensity for various strengths of the magnetic field B. Trapping in the MF{M}_{F}MF​=\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}2 levels of the ground state could be observed to be of decreasing importance for an increasing component of B perpendicular to the laser polarization \ensuremath{\epsilon}^. For laser intensities increasing beyond certain critical values, however, the fluorescence decreased and trapping seemed to become again important. For a quantitative explanation of the observed behavior we describe the system by generalized rate equations for the density matrix. We find that stimulated absorption and emission processes effectively inhibit the Larmor precession, thereby enforcing the trapping effect. Precession can only take place at sufficiently low light intensities.
We report on studies on optical bistability from coherently driven $\ensuremath{\Lambda}$-type three-level atoms in a Fabry-Perot resonator. The nonlinear mechanism relies on transverse optical pumping and is due to population trapping in a coherent superposition of the ground-state sublevels. If, under appropriate conditions, a zero-field level-crossing resonance (Hanle resonance) occurs in the atomic system, the optical device is shown to display dispersive or absorptive bistability. Our theoretical studies are based on numerical solutions of the corresponding three-level Bloch equations in the presence of optical feedback. Experiments are performed on the D1{D}_{1}D1​ line in a sodium-filled Fabry-Perot resonator using transverse optical Zeeman pumping of the 2S12^{2}S_{\frac{1}{2}}2S21​​ ground state. The measurements are found to be in fair agreement with the theoretical predictions from our simple model.
The response of ground-state spin coherence to narrow-band periodic optical excitation is studied theoretically and experimentally. The dependence of the induced oscillating magnetization on the transverse magnetic field and on the frequency of the laser radiation is calculated for a four-level model system from a Bloch-type equation, yielding a two-dimensional resonance line. The application of this two-dimensional high-resolution Zeeman and optical spectroscopy is demonstrated experimentally in the case of the D1{\mathit{D}}_{1}D1​ line of atomic rubidium vapor. Resolution in the kilohertz range is achieved, which allows clear spectral separation of the two isotopes 85Rb^{85}\mathrm{Rb}85Rb and 87Rb^{87}\mathrm{Rb}87Rb, showing overlapping lines in the conventional optical absorption spectrum.
We describe optically pumping a beam of sodium atoms to >96% mS and >92% mS, mI state selection. (We have accurately measured the population of every mS, mI state in the optically pumped beam.) For the optical pumping both ground hyperfine states are pumped, using single-mode cw dye-laser radiation tuned to the 3S1/2–3P1/2 transition that is phase modulated in a LiTaO3 crystal to produce first-order sidebands at approximately the 1772-MHz hyperfine splitting of the ground state. The z-directed optical pumping is performed in a z-directed magnetic field of ~5 G. The state-selected atoms then move, in ~1 cm, into an ~200 G, z-directed field. The downstream probe laser beam is scanned through the 3S1/2 (mS, mI) → 3P3/2 (mS′, mI) transitions, which are spectroscopically resolved at 200 G, and the fluorescence intensities portray the residual populations in each of the eight 3S1/2 states.