Evolution of dark state of an open atomic system in constant intensity laser field

Abstract

We studied experimentally and theoretically the evolution of open atomic systems in the constant intensity laser field. The study is performed by analyzing the line shapes of Hanle electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) obtained in different segments of a laser beam cross section of constant intensity, i.e., a $\ensuremath{\Pi}$-shaped laser beam. Such Hanle EIT resonances were measured using a small movable aperture placed just in front of the photodetector, i.e., after the entire laser beam had passed through the vacuum Rb cell. The laser was locked to the open transition ${F}_{g}=2\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{F}_{e}=1$ at the ${D}_{1}$ line of ${}^{87}$Rb with laser intensities between 0.5 and 4 mW/cm${}^{2}$. This study shows that the profile of the laser beam determines the processes governing the development of atomic states during the interaction. The resonances obtained near the beam center are narrower than those obtained near the beam edge, but the significant changes of the linewidths occur only near the beam edge, i.e., right after the atom enters the beam. The Hanle EIT resonances obtained near the beam center exhibit two pronounced minima next to the central maximum. The theoretical model reveals that the occurrence of these transmission minima is a joint effect of the preparation of atoms into the dark state and the optical pumping into the uncoupled ground level ${F}_{g}=1$. The appearance of the transmission minima, although similar to that observed in the wings of a Gaussian beam [A. J. Krmpot et al., Opt. Express 17, 22491 (2009)], is of an entirely different nature for the $\ensuremath{\Pi}$-shaped laser beam.