Annales de Physique

Current research in optical pumping

P. R. Berman

Published Jan 1, 1985• 0 citations

Abstract

In 1950, Professor Alfred Kastler described the way in which optical fields could be used to redistribute population among the Zeeman sublevels of a given atomic state. The « optical pumping » process discovered by Kastler continues to be a research topic of current interest. With developments in laser spectroscopy, it has become important to understand the interplay of optical pumping, transit-time and collisional effects to properly interpret experimental line shapes. A brief review of the current status of the theory is given, with special emphasis on what, as yet, appear to be unresolved problems. Velocity selective optical pumping and collision-induced resonances are discussed.

DOI: 10.1051/anphys:01985001006098500

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