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Chinese Physics Letters

Abnormal Phenomenon of ac Stark splitting in Magneto-Optical Traps

Shuyu Zhou, Zhen Xu, Zhou Shan-Yu, Yuzhu Wang

Published Jun 16, 2005• 4 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We experimentally study the ac Stark splitting in D 2 line of cold 87 Rb atoms. The frequency span between the Autler–Townes doublets is obviously larger than that derived from theoretical calculation. Two physical effects, which increase the effective Rabi frequency, contribute to the splitting broadening. First, atoms tend to distribute in strong field places of a inhomogeneous red-detuned light field. Second, atoms reabsorb scattered light when they are huge in number and high in density.

DOI
10.1088/0256-307x/22/7/031

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Abnormal phenomenon of ac Stark splitting in magneto-optical traps

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We experimentally study the ac Stark splitting in D2 line of cold Rb-87 atoms. The frequency span between the Autler-Townes doublets is obviously larger than that derived from theoretical calculation. Two physical effects, which increase the effective Rabi frequency, contribute to the splitting broadening. First, atoms tend to distribute in strong lield places of a inhomogeneous red-detuned light field. Second, atoms reabsorb scattered light when they are huge in number and high in density.

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ac Stark splitting in multiphoton excitation of atomic hydrogen in flames: Abnormal peak asymmetry due to pressure broadening

Albert M. F. Lau

The author develops a theory of ac Stark (or Autler-Townes) splitting occurring in double optical resonances, one of which is a two-photon transition. It includes both laser bandwidth and collisional broadening effects. Theoretical results are in excellent agreement with Goldsmith's observation of two-peaked structures in the multiphoton excitation spectra of atomic hydrogen in atmospheric-pressure flames. This is believed to be the first study demonstrating that the peak asymmetry in an ac Stark doublet can be reversed due to pressure broadening.

Physical Review A•May 1, 1986•11 citations
We experimentally study the ac Stark splitting in D 2 line of cold 87 Rb atoms. The frequency span between the Autler–Townes doublets is obviously larger than that derived from theoretical calculation. Two physical effects, which increase the effective Rabi frequency, contribute to the splitting broadening. First, atoms tend to distribute in strong field places of a inhomogeneous red-detuned light field. Second, atoms reabsorb scattered light when they are huge in number and high in density.
Autler-Townes (A-T) splitting, known as an AC Stark effect, shows a change of an absorption/emission spectral line of a probe beam when an oscillating field is tuned in resonance with the atomic or molecular transition. The A-T splitting is observed in different three-level atoms and widely investigated in a vapor cell and in a magneto-optical trap (MOT). The A-T splitting plays an important role in the atom-based microwave electric-field measurements where a cascade three-level system involving Rydberg state is adopted. In this work, an A-T splitting is observed in an ultracold cesium Rydberg gas, which is cooled down to about 100 pK and center density is about 1010 cm-3 in a conventional MOT by using the laser cooling technology. We present the A-T spectrum in a ladder three-level atomic system involving a 34D5/2 Rydberg state. The cesium ground state (6S1/2), excited state (6P3/2) and Rydberg state (34D5/2) constitute a Rydberg three-level system. A coupling laser, locked to the Rydberg transition by using a Rydberg electromagnetically induced transparency signal that is obtained from a cesium room-temperature vapor cell, couples 6P3/2 (F'=5) 34D5/2 Rydberg transition. A weak probe laser, stabilized to a ground-state transition by using a polarization spectroscopy, is swept, covering the transition 6S1/2 (F=4) 6P3/2 (F'=5) with a double-passed acousto-optic modulator. The probe and coupling lasers are counter-propagated through the MOT center. The power of probe light is 200 pW, corresponding Rabi frequency p=21.05 MHz. During the experiment, 50 s after turning off the trapping laser, both the coupling and probe beams are switched on and last 100 s. The A-T spectrum as a function of the probe detuning is detected with a single-photon counter module detector. We use Gaussian multiple peak fitting to obtain the positions of the A-T peaks and the A-T splitting. The measured A-T splitting is proportional to the Rabi frequency of the coupling light. We numerically solve the density matrix equations to obtain the A-T spectrum, and the calculations reproduce A-T spectra well. The measured A-T splitting shows good agreement with the theoretical calculation for Rabi frequency of the coupling light c29 MHz. The A-T splitting is less than the calculation for the case of c29 MHz, the deviation is mainly attributed to the increased dephasing rate induced by the strong interaction between Rydberg atoms, whose number increases with the coupling laser Rabi frequency. In this work, the adopted method for the cascade three-level system involving Rydberg state is also suitable for -and V-type cases.
Autler—Townes splitting in absorption spectra of the excited states 6 2 P 3/2 –8 2 S 1/2 of cold cesium atoms confined in a magneto-optical trap has been observed. Experimental data of the Autler—Townes splitting fit well to the dressed-atom theory, by which the fact of the cold atoms dressed by cooling/trapping laser beams is revealed. The results of the theoretical fitting with experiment not only told us the effective Rabi frequency cold atoms experienced, but also could be used for measuring the probability amplitudes of the dressed states.
Abstract We demonstrate the effect of inter-atomic interaction in highly excited Rydberg atoms via Autler–Townes (AT) splitting in cold atoms. We measure the AT splitting of the { 5 S 1 / 2 , F = 2 } → { 5 P 3 / 2 , F ′ = 3 } transition of 87Rb atoms arising due to the strong coupling of the transition via the cooling beams used for the magneto-optical trap (MOT). The AT splitting is probed using a weakly coupled transition from { 5 P 3 / 2 , F ′ = 3 } state to highly excited Rydberg states for a wide range of principal quantum numbers ( n = 35 − 117 ) . We observe the AT splitting via trap-loss spectroscopy in the MOT by scanning the probe frequency. We observe a drastic increase in the broadening of the AT splitting signal as a result of interaction-induced dephasing effect in cold Rydberg atoms for highly excited Rydberg states with principal quantum number n > 100. We explain our observations using theoretical modeling and numerical simulations based on the Lindblad Master equation. We find a good agreement of the results of the numerical simulation with the experimental measurements.
Summary form only given.It is well known that a strongly driven transition exhibits a doublet splitting when probed by a weak field, commonly known as AC Stark splitting. It can be observed either by probing the driven two-level itself (Mollow-type spectrum) or via a third level (Autler-Townes-type spectrum). These two type splittings can have very different characteristics, particularly when driven resonantly. The absorptive Mollow spectrum consists of two dispersion-like features, whereas for the Autler-Townes spectrum there is a simple doublet splitting. In this paper we report the observation of both Mollow and Autler-Townes spectrum simultaneously by applying two strong driving fields in a three-level configuration.
The author develops a theory of ac Stark (or Autler-Townes) splitting occurring in double optical resonances, one of which is a two-photon transition. It includes both laser bandwidth and collisional broadening effects. Theoretical results are in excellent agreement with Goldsmith's observation of two-peaked structures in the multiphoton excitation spectra of atomic hydrogen in atmospheric-pressure flames. This is believed to be the first study demonstrating that the peak asymmetry in an ac Stark doublet can be reversed due to pressure broadening.