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Europhysics Letters (EPL)

White-Light-Induced Drift on Sodium Vapour

Silvia Gozzini, C. Marinelli, E. Mariotti, C. Gabbanini, A. Lucchesini, L. Moi

Published Jan 21, 1992• 4 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We report the first experimental evidence of the white-light-induced-drift effect in one-component active gas. It can be observed in optically thick multilevel systems when an initially flat excitation spectrum is asymmetrically modified by both absorption and optical pumping. The effect has been detected in sodium vapour excited by a laser with a very large bandwidth and a particular cavity configuration ("lamp laser").

DOI
10.1209/0295-5075/17/4/005

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Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics•Jul 14, 1992•5 citations
We report the first experimental evidence of the white-light-induced-drift effect in one-component active gas. It can be observed in optically thick multilevel systems when an initially flat excitation spectrum is asymmetrically modified by both absorption and optical pumping. The effect has been detected in sodium vapour excited by a laser with a very large bandwidth and a particular cavity configuration ("lamp laser").
A new light-induced drift effect is discussed in which a white-light source separates a gas mixture containing a single optically active (absorbing) species and a buffer gas which does not interact with the light. A three-level model with one upper level and two closely spaced lower levels is used for the active atoms, and strong collisions with the more abundant surrounding buffer gas atoms are assumed. The intensity spectrum in the vapor (including the effects of hyperfine pumping), and the resulting drift velocity are calculated as a function of optical depth into the vapor.
A source of white light (i.e., with a flat spectrum) can separate the components of a gas mixture. This effect, which may have applications in stellar atmospheres, is due to light-induced drift which appears when absorption lines form in the intensity spectrum of the propagating light. We theoretically discuss the effect in its simplest form: white light shining into a gas containing two optically absorbing species and a buffer gas. Transport equations are presented, assuming two-level atoms and ignoring stimulated emission. Several limiting cases are discussed analytically. A numerical solution is also presented and used to estimate the ranges of validity of the analytical solutions.
It is shown that non-laser radiation with a broad-band spectrum can induce a drift of optically absorbing multi-level atoms through buffer gas and separate them. It is not necessary to have a mixture of absorbing species to form an asymmetry in the initially flat light spectrum with respect to the atomic resonances. The spectrum asymmetry required for a velocity-selective excitation of the atoms may be formed in the propagating light due to the difference in absorption indexes at nearby transitions of the same species. A set of kinetic equations for coupled light and particles is presented. Numerical analysis of the problem and estimations are done for several typical cases.