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Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Physics Letters

Anomalous spatial concentration of atoms in the field of a standing light wave

Denis V. Brazhnikov, R. Ya. Ilenkov, Прудников Олег Николаевич, А. В. Тайченачев, Anatolii M Tumaikin, Valeriy I. Yudin, Andrei Goncharov, Alexander S. Zibrov

Published Jun 1, 2012• 4 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The stationary momentum and coordinate distributions of two-level atoms in the field of a one-dimensional standing light wave have been studied. A qualitatively new effect—the predominant concentration of atoms outside of the minima of the optical potential—has been detected in the regime of moderate saturation of an atomic transition and red frequency detuning. This effect has been qualitatively interpreted. Calculations have been performed using the quantum kinetic equation for the atomic density matrix with the complete inclusion of recoil and localization effects in an arbitrary-intensity light field. In addition to theoretical significance, the results can be useful for atomic nanolithography and frequency standards based on optical gratings.

DOI
10.1134/s0021364012080036

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The stationary momentum and coordinate distributions of two-level atoms in the field of a one-dimensional standing light wave have been studied. A qualitatively new effect—the predominant concentration of atoms outside of the minima of the optical potential—has been detected in the regime of moderate saturation of an atomic transition and red frequency detuning. This effect has been qualitatively interpreted. Calculations have been performed using the quantum kinetic equation for the atomic density matrix with the complete inclusion of recoil and localization effects in an arbitrary-intensity light field. In addition to theoretical significance, the results can be useful for atomic nanolithography and frequency standards based on optical gratings.
The setting time of the stationary distribution over translational degrees of freedom of two-level atoms in the field of a one-dimensional standing light wave is studied. The dependences of this time on the problem parameters such as the light wave intensity, frequency detuning, and atom mass are obtained. Calculations are performed on the basis of the quantum-mechanical equation for the atomic density matrix taking completely into account the recoil and spatial localization effects in an arbitrarily intense light field.
Kinetic phenomena of resonant-particle motion in a standing-light-wave field are theoretically discussed. The light-pressure force and its fluctuations are found in a wide range of the parameters: the atomic velocity, the intensity, and the detuning of the field. There are two characteristic regions of the detunings in a strong field: the adiabatic region and the region of Landau–Zener resonances. The quantum fluctuations of the inner atomic state that are due to the Landau–Zener transitions result, specifically, in the interference effect in the mean light-pressure force. The effects of the spatial grating of the cooled atoms, the particle velocity bunching, and the recoil-effect dependence on the nonlinear absorption are considered for slow particles. The effect of optical pumping by linearly polarized light taking into account the recoil effect is fundamentally new. Because of this effect, the anisotropic resonance medium becomes gyrotropic.
The localization of sodium atoms in a spherical standing single-frequency light wave was experimentally studied and numerical calculations were performed for two- and three-level sodium atom models. A qualitative agreement was obtained between the experimental and theoretical results for the three-level atoms. The interaction between sodium atoms and the single-frequency field was shown to cause an effective localization of the atoms in the vicinity of the light-wave modes. The process was found to be influenced substantially by optical pumping, giving rise to an additional cooling of the atoms.
This chapter reviews the investigations performed at the Institute of Spectroscopy into this non-linear optic effect. The motion of an atom in a standing light wave is governed by the gradient force of potential nature. When the atomic transition saturation parameter is much less than unity and the atom-light-field interaction time is such that the change in the atomic momentum due to friction and diffusion is insignificant, both the friction force and atomic momentum diffusion can be disregarded. One of the manifestations of the atomic channelling effect in a standing light wave is the concentration of atoms near the nodes or loops of the wave. An atom can be localized in a spherical standing light wave if its trajectory is tangent to the wave front at the entrance point, the gradient force exceeds the centrifugal force, and the field intensity grows higher in the direction of atomic motion.