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Physical Review A

Self-Induced Transparency in Atomic Rubidium

R. E. Slusher, H. M. Gibbs

Published Apr 1, 1972• 183 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Self-induced transparency has been studied in detail experimentally for a simple two-level atomic absorption. A Hg II laser pulse is used at resonance with the ${D}_{1}$ line of Rb. This system eliminates many previous experimental problems such as nonuniform wave fronts and degenerate off-resonant absorbers. Nonlinear transmission, pulse delays, pulse breakup, peak amplification, incoherent-decay effects, off-resonance effects, and focusing effects have been observed. Quantitative comparison with theory is obtained by computer solutions which include the incoherent decay and optical-pulse shapes of the Hg-Rb system. Good agreement is obtained with the theory of McCall and Hahn. Pulse compression by an order of magnitude is obtained by focusing in the resonant absorber. The theory predicting preferred pulse widths and velocities proposed by Davidovich and Eberly is discussed and found inappropriate for the Hg-Rb and other similar systems.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.5.1634

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Adiabatic Following and Slow Optical Pulse Propagation in Rubidium Vapor

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Short pulses of narrow-line low-intensity dye-laser light nearly resonant with the Zeeman-split $^{2}P_{\frac{1}{2}}$ resonance line (7948 \AA{}) of rubidium were observed to propagate through dilute rubidium vapor as slowly as $(\frac{1}{14})c$. These slow pulse velocities showed that most of the energy in the propagating wave was contained by the vapor as coherent atomic excitation. The observed pulse velocities ${v}_{p}$ are in good agreement with the equation ${v}_{p}=\frac{d\ensuremath{\omega}}{\mathrm{dk}}$ for the group velocity obtained from linear-dispersion theory. Also, the experimental results are quantitatively explained by adiabatic following, in which the pseudomoments of the atoms remain aligned along the effective field of the laser light. The adiabatic-following model allows for a direct comparison of our results with the work on self-induced transparency. For high-intensity light, adiabatic following predicts a nonlinear pulse velocity and the possibility of observing self-steepening.

Physical Review A•Jun 1, 1973•138 citations
Self-induced transparency has been studied in detail experimentally for a simple two-level atomic absorption. A Hg II laser pulse is used at resonance with the D1{D}_{1}D1​ line of Rb. This system eliminates many previous experimental problems such as nonuniform wave fronts and degenerate off-resonant absorbers. Nonlinear transmission, pulse delays, pulse breakup, peak amplification, incoherent-decay effects, off-resonance effects, and focusing effects have been observed. Quantitative comparison with theory is obtained by computer solutions which include the incoherent decay and optical-pulse shapes of the Hg-Rb system. Good agreement is obtained with the theory of McCall and Hahn. Pulse compression by an order of magnitude is obtained by focusing in the resonant absorber. The theory predicting preferred pulse widths and velocities proposed by Davidovich and Eberly is discussed and found inappropriate for the Hg-Rb and other similar systems.
Self-induced transparency (SIT) has been observed under the conditions of sharp-line absorption, i.e., with an inhomogeneous absorption width only one-fourth the spectral width of the pulse. A 5-nsec pulse from a 202Hg^{202}\mathrm{Hg}202Hg ii laser intersected perpendicularly an atomic beam of natural rubidium. The beam slits reduced the Doppler absorption width to about 30 MHz. A particular resolved MI{M}_{\mathrm{I}}MI​ transition of 85Rb^{85}\mathrm{Rb}85Rb was scanned into coincidence with the laser pulse by a 75-KOe magnetic field. With peak absorption depths of 3-6, nonlinear transmission, pulse delays, pulse breakup, and peak amplification were seen and found to be in excellent agreement with sharp-line computer solutions of the Maxwell-Bloch equations. The experimental realization of the sharp-line SIT is of interest because analytical formulas for pulse evolutions are more plentiful and because sharp-line SIT might permit compression of picosecond pulses.
Above a critical power threshold for a given pulse width, a short pulse of coherent traveling-wave optical radiation is observed to propagate with anomalously low energy loss while at resonance with a two-quantum-level system of absorbers. The line shape of the resonant system is determined by inhomogeneous broadening, and the pulse width is short compared to dissipative relaxation times. A new mechanism of self-induced transparency, which accounts for the low energy loss, is analyzed in the ideal limit of a plane wave which excites a resonant medium with no damping present. The stable condition of transparency results after the traversal of the pulse through a few classical absorption lengths into the medium. This condition exists when the initial pulse has evolved into a symmetric hyperbolic-secant pulse function of time and distance, and has the area characteristic of a "$2\ensuremath{\pi}$ pulse." Ideal transparency then persists when coherent induced absorption of pulse energy during the first half of the pulse is followed by coherent induced emission of the same amount of energy back into the beam direction during the second half of the pulse. The effects of dissipative relaxation times upon pulse energy, pulse area, and pulse delay time are analyzed to first order in the ratio of short pulse width to long damping time. The analysis shows that the $2\ensuremath{\pi}$ pulse condition can be maintained if losses caused by damping are compensated by beam focusing. In an amplifying inhomogeneously broadened medium an analytic "$\ensuremath{\pi}$ pulse area" solution is presented in the limit of a sharp leading edge of the pulse. The dynamics of self-induced transparency are studied for the particular effects of Doppler velocities upon a resonant gas. The analysis of transparency for random orientations of dipole moments associated with degenerate rotational states yields modified forms of self-induced transparency behavior, which indicates a finite pulse energy loss as a function of distance in some cases. The effect of self-induced transparency on the photon echo is considered. Experimental observations of self-induced transparency have been made in a ruby sample at resonance with a pulsed ruby-laser beam. Single and multiple $2\ensuremath{\pi}$ pulse outputs have been observed, and pulse areas measured in the range of $2\ensuremath{\pi}$. The experimental results are compared with the predictions of the ideal-plane-wave theory. Deviations from the ideal-plane-wave theory are discussed. An analysis is made of the effect of a transverse mode of the propagating beam upon the transparency properties of the pulse.
A review is given of the current status of the self-induced transparency effect. The McCall–Hahn theory (2π pulses) is considered and its generalization to the case of phase modulation of radiation pulses, degeneracy of transitions, and two-photon resonance is discussed. The relationship with the theory of nonlinear waves, obeying the Korteweg–de Vries equation, is pointed out. The possibility of similar coherent effects in direct interband transitions in semiconductors is discussed. A summary is given of the experimental results demonstrating a strong fall in the absorption and a considerable slowing down of light pulses, typical of the self-induced transparency. Possible physical applications of the effect, based on these properties, are discussed.
Coherent propagation of intense short laser pulses through degenerate absorbing media is investigated with the use of an atomic-iodine laser-absorber self-resonant combination. Four degenerate systems, the $^{2}P_{\frac{1}{2}}\ensuremath{-}^{2}P_{\frac{3}{2}}$, $F=3\ensuremath{\leftrightarrow}{F}^{\ensuremath{'}}=4$, $\ensuremath{\Delta}{M}_{F}=0,\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1$ and $F=2\ensuremath{\leftrightarrow}{F}^{\ensuremath{'}}=2$, $\ensuremath{\Delta}{M}_{F}=0,\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1$ transitions, are studied under various conditions. Theoretical analysis based on the "pulse-area---pulse-energy" approach shows different pulse propagation behaviors for three typical types of degeneracy. Experimental results give good agreement with theoretical predictions. It is concluded that self-induced transparency exists in any degenerate two-level system, provided that suitable polarization of radiation is used. The usefulness of self-induced-transparency phenomena for measurements of transitional dipole moment and homogeneous relaxation time is also demonstrated.
Short pulses of narrow-line low-intensity dye-laser light nearly resonant with the Zeeman-split 2P12^{2}P_{\frac{1}{2}}2P21​​ resonance line (7948 \AA{}) of rubidium were observed to propagate through dilute rubidium vapor as slowly as (114)c(\frac{1}{14})c(141​)c. These slow pulse velocities showed that most of the energy in the propagating wave was contained by the vapor as coherent atomic excitation. The observed pulse velocities vp{v}_{p}vp​ are in good agreement with the equation ${v}_{p}=\frac{d\ensuremath{\omega}}{\mathrm{dk}}$ for the group velocity obtained from linear-dispersion theory. Also, the experimental results are quantitatively explained by adiabatic following, in which the pseudomoments of the atoms remain aligned along the effective field of the laser light. The adiabatic-following model allows for a direct comparison of our results with the work on self-induced transparency. For high-intensity light, adiabatic following predicts a nonlinear pulse velocity and the possibility of observing self-steepening.