Two-photon cooperative absorption is common in solid-state physics. In a sample of trapped cold atoms, this effect may open up new possibilities for the study of nonlinear effects. The experiment described herein starts with two colliding Na atoms in the S hyperfine ground state. The pair absorb two photons, resulting in both a P(1/2) and a P(3/2) atom. This excitation is observed by ionization using an external light source. A simple model that considers only dipole-dipole interactions between the atoms allows us to understand the basic features observed in the experimental results. Both the pair of generated atoms and the photons originating from their decay are correlated and may have interesting applications that remain to be explored.

Physical Review LettersJun 19, 201216 citations

Processos envolvendo a interação de dois fótons com dois atomos

Rafael Negreiros de Paiva

In the atomic, molecular, optical physics field, processes involving two photons are very well understood and used in applications ranging from spectroscopy to laser cooling technics. In this thesis is presented the study and experimental realization of two two-photon processes. Using sodium atoms trapped in a magnetic optical trap we could demonstrate two-photon cooperative absorption, and that the creation of a molecular bound state using only light fields, or photonic bound state, is possible. Two-photon cooperative absorption, very common in solid-state physics, is a process where a pair of atoms initially in the ground state is excited to the double excited state, via absorption of two photons with frequecy that is not ressonant with any excited state. Its experimental realization with cold atoms may open new and exciting possibilities to better understand nonlinear effects, and it is a new way to create correlated atoms and photons in cold atomic physics. This absorption was observed by ionization of the pair after the excitation. A simple model that considers only dipole-dipole interactions between the atoms allows us to understand the basic features observed in the experimental data. A photonic bound state uses two photons to create the two basic features of a molecular bound state: a repulsive part and an attractive part. A blue photon, blue detuned from the atomic transition, connects the ground state of the pair to the repulsive part of the first excited molecular state 1, and a red photon, red detuned from the atomic transition, connects the connects the ground state of the pair to the attractive part of the first excited molecular state. In the dressed state picture, when the light fields are strong, this three-states-two-photon system creates adiabatic bound potentials that are strongly dependent of the photon properties. Using a theoretical model we could study how this bound energies changes when we change the photon properties, and the experimental data shows that this photos are indeed dressing the potentials with a efficiency that would enable the creation of photonic molecules.

Aug 23, 20130 citations