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Annalen der Physik

Transformation of an Atomic Alignment into an Orientation in a Discharge

M. Elbel, M. Simon, Th Strauss

Published Jan 1, 1990• 5 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract It is shown that an atomic state aligned by optical pumping with linearly polarized laser light, is partly transformed into an oriented state by the action of an electric field (Stark effect) or by collisional interaction with electrons. The outcome of the experiment suggests that the influence of the electrons prevails.
DOI
10.1002/andp.19905020605

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We present a detailed theoretical model and experimentally measured signals of alignment to orientation conversion (AOC) in the 7D3/2 and 9D3/2 states of cesium atoms in the presence of an external dc electric field [1]. Alignment produced by linearly polarized light can be converted into orientation by the quadratic Stark effect in an electric field if the angle between the electric field and the polarization vector of the exciting radiation is neither 0 or 90 degrees and if there are magnetic sublevels with Δm = ±1 that cross as the electric field is scanned. The appearance of orientation is verified by the appearance of a net circular polarization in the laser induced fluorescence. The theoretical model is based on the optical Bloch equation and extends models previously developed to solve the rate equations for Zeeman coherences in single-step [2] and double step laser excitation [3] of atoms. The agreement between the simulated and measured signals is excellent.
The optical pumping of Cs atoms with light of the D 1 line under magnetic resonance conditions is numerically calculated. This calculation is done to check the suggestion that an unexpectedly strong influence of the polarization of the pumping light on the resonance signals of transverse alignment, which we observed experimentally, is caused by the coupling between orientation and alignment by means of the magnetic field and/or the pumping light. This suggestion has been confirmed: upon circularly polarized pumping, the shape of the signal line of transverse alignment proved to be similar, as well as in the experiment, to the shape of the signal line of transverse orientation and was sharply different from the shape of the line of alignment observed upon linearly polarized pumping. For metastable 23 S 1 4He atoms, in accordance with the experimental data, the calculated shape of the signal line of transverse alignment is found to be independent of the polarization of the pumping light. The calculations also confirm the possibility of a reverse effect: the influence of alignment on orientation, which manifests itself in the occurrence of orientation upon pumping with unpolarized light under magnetic resonance conditions. For Cs atoms exposed to a field of ∼0.6 Oe, the largest contribution to this effect is yielded by the field coupling of orientation and alignment, whereas, for metastable 23 S 1 4He atoms, the largest contribution is made by the light coupling of these polarization moments.
We report the experimental observation of alignment to orientation conversion in the 7D3/2 and 9D3/2 states of Cs in the presence of an external dc electric field and without the influence of magnetic fields or atomic collisions. Initial alignment of angular momentum states was created by two-step excitation with linearly polarized laser radiation. The appearance of transverse orientation of angular momentum was confirmed by the observation of circularly polarized light. We present experimentally measured signals and compare them with the results of a detailed theoretical model based on the optical Bloch equations. The effect is odd under time reversal and should be taken into account in ever more sensitive searches for an electron electric dipole moment.
The mutual coupling between the polarization moments with ranks of different parity is theoretically considered. The manifestation of this mutual coupling has been revealed previously in experiments on magnetic resonance of optically oriented cesium atoms. The two well-known types of the coupling between the polarization moments are considered: the field coupling of these moments that occur due to the breaking of the hyperfine coupling between the electronic and nuclear moments of the alkali atom by the magnetic field and the light coupling of the moments due to the absorption of the pumping light by polarized atoms. The experimentally observed similarity in the shape of resonance signals of alignment and orientation upon circularly polarized pumping can be explained by the fact that, for alkali atoms, the generation of alignment by light at the wavelength of the D 1 line is of low efficiency. Therefore, alignment arises mainly from orientation by means of either the field or the light coupling of polarization moments. For metastable 23 S 1 4He atoms, no influence of the orientation on the alignment was observed because, in these atoms, the field coupling between the polarization moments is absent and the light coupling is not displayed because the generation of alignment by the circularly polarized pumping light is more efficient than the creation of alignment from orientation by means of light coupling of polarization moments.
We have observed alignment-to-orientation conversion in the (5d6p)(5d6p)(5d6p) 1P{}^{1}P1P state of atomic barium due to the combined effects of a static Zeeman shift and a dynamic Stark shift associated with the electric field of a pulsed laser beam. The measurements yield a value for the frequency-dependent tensor polarizability of the state in reasonable agreement with a simple perturbation theory calculation. With a tunable laser producing the dynamic Stark shift, we can both enhance the magnitude of the effect by tuning close to a resonance and reverse the sign of the orientation by tuning above or below the resonance. This method of producing an oriented atomic state is quite general, and with easily available field strengths can produce large orientations.