Laser Physics Letters
Polarization properties of Raman micromaser
Решетов Владимир Александрович, И. Н. Пигалева, Igor V. Yevseyev
Abstract
The polarization properties of one-atom maser pumped by the coherent field via Raman transitions are studied theoretically. The three-level Λ-type atoms with degenerate Rydberg levels E b < E a < E c enter the micromaser cavity being excited to the lower level E b . The coherent microwave field drives the transition b → c , while the maser transition a → c is coupled to the cavity quantum field. The dependence of the maser field parameters, such as the mean photon number and the variance, as well as of the correlation functions of the atoms, emerging from the cavity, versus the angle ψ between the polarizations of the maser and driving fields are investigated. The case of transitions J b = 3/2 → J c = 3/2 and J a = 5/2 → J c = 3/2 in the rubidium atoms, which are exploited in micromaser experiments (see, e.g., the review [1]), is analyzed numerically. The possibility of monitoring the state of the maser field by means of driving field polarization is discussed.