A novel coherent transient effect is observed following a rapid shift in the relative phase of an exciting laser and sample polarization. An analytical expression is derived for the signal which is a sum of exponentially decaying terms with characteristic times involving both ${T}_{1}$ and ${T}_{2}$ . Phase switching is a powerful approach to the study of optical relaxation and is applied here to measure dephasing in La ${\mathrm{Cl}}_{3}$ : ${\mathrm{Pr}}^{3+}$ .A novel coherent transient effect is observed following a rapid shift in the relative phase of an exciting laser and sample polarization. An analytical expression is derived for the signal which is a sum of exponentially decaying terms with characteristic times involving both ${T}_{1}$ and ${T}_{2}$. Phase switching is a powerful approach to the study of optical relaxation and is applied here to measure dephasing in La${\mathrm{Cl}}_{3}$: ${\mathrm{Pr}}^{3+}$.

Physical Review LettersAug 11, 198031 citations

{T}_{1}

and

{T}_{2}

. Phase switching is a powerful approach to the study of optical relaxation and is applied here to measure dephasing in La

{\mathrm{Cl}}_{3}

{\mathrm{Pr}}^{3+}