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Quantum Electronics and Laser Science Conference

Theory of dark resonances for alkali atom vapors in a buffered cell

А. В. Тайченачев, Valeriy I. Yudin, R. Wynands, John E. Kitching, Leo W. Hollberg

Published Jun 25, 2003• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Summary form only given. We develop a new analytical theory, which takes into account the full atomic level structure (both Zeeman and hyperfine) as well as all field-induced effects such as coherence preparation, optical pumping, ac Stark shifts, and power broadening. The crucial assumption is the total collisional depolarization in the excited state. In addition, we add the (optional) approximations of homogeneous broadening and low-saturation. With these approximations, we get a quite general analytical result for the atomic response, which holds for arbitrary excitation schemes (D2 as well as D1 lines), field polarizations, and magnetic field directions. Specifically, in the case of sufficiently large magnetic field, when only two states participate in the coherence preparation, analytical lineshapes coincide exactly with the Lorentz-Lorentz model heuristically introduced to fit experimental data.

DOI
10.1109/qels.2002.1031275

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In a weak magnetic field coherent dark resonances in cesium vapor are split into up to 15 resolved components, depending on field direction and laser polarizations. We find that the selection rules are different for vapor cells with and without buffer gas due to a change in multipolarity of the two-photon coupling. At low laser intensities or sufficiently high buffer-gas pressure optical pumping between different dark resonances can be neglected so that a simple model allows one to calculate the relative line strengths, giving complete agreement with the experimental spectra.
Optical pumping is fundamental to high-precision measurement using thermal alkali-metal atoms in vapor cells. In applications such as atomic magnetometry, buffer gases (e.g., N2\mathrm{N}_2N2​ or He\mathrm{He}He) at specific pressures are introduced to quench fluorescence and mitigate wall relaxation. In the high-pressure limit (e.g., the N2\mathrm{N}_2N2​ pressure pN2>1p_{\mathrm{N}_2}> 1pN2​​>1~atm), where collisional broadening exceeds hyperfine splittings of the atoms, optical pumping theory provides a clear description of the angular momentum exchange between photons and atomic spins. However, in many magnetic sensing scenarios, the high-pressure approximation becomes inadequate as its pressure conditions are not strictly satisfied. Consequently, an explicit description of optical pumping under realistic pressures is critical for selecting operating points and enhancing system performance. To address this, we develop a unified theoretical framework of optical pumping in the quasi-high-pressure regime, where collisional broadening is comparable to the ground-state hyperfine splitting. We demonstrate that light absorption, spin polarization, and magnetic-resonance linewidth in this regime differ significantly from those predicted by the high-pressure limit and offer favorable operating conditions. Our study extends conventional modeling and offers critical guidance for atomic magnetometry operating under realistic buffer gas pressures.
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Saturation Effects of Dark Magneto-Optical Resonances Observed on the AlkaliD1Line Theoretical studies of saturation effects of dark magneto-optical resonances are presented. A model based on the optical Bloch equations is applied to simulate numerically the alkaliD1excitation in external magnetic field. The laser power densities at which the expected dark resonance contrast reaches maximum are analyzed and correlated with the quantum superposition states induced by exciting laser field. Fictional hyperfine structure constants for the excited state are used to vary the selection efficiency of hyperfine transitions.