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Physical Review Letters

Observation of Resonant Light Diffraction by an Atomic Beam

Bruce W. Peuse, Mara Goff Prentiss, Shaoul Ezekiel

Published Jul 26, 1982• 8 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Resonant light diffraction by an atomic beam of sodium has been uncovered by careful measurements of the spatial dependence of the absorption. Recently developed modulation techniques made such measurements possible. Both on-resonance and off-resonance excitations as well as the influence of intense fields have been studied. The observed spatial behavior is in good agreement with a preliminary calculation based on the interference between the field scattered by the atoms and the excitation field.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.49.269

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Resonant light diffraction by an atomic beam of sodium has been uncovered by careful measurements of the spatial dependence of the absorption. Recently developed modulation techniques made such measurements possible. Both on-resonance and off-resonance excitations as well as the influence of intense fields have been studied. The observed spatial behavior is in good agreement with a preliminary calculation based on the interference between the field scattered by the atoms and the excitation field.
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