The fluorescent light from two atomic levels is studied assuming that the atoms are subjected to a gas discharge, to a static magnetic field, and, simultaneously, to a laser beam having the transition frequency between the atomic levels. Calculations are developed in the formalism of irreducible tensor operators. One takes into account the existence of isotropic relaxations and cascade effects due to spontaneous emission between the upper and the lower levels. Following Lamb, the laser beam is described classically by its electric field, and its effects are calculated by perturbation theory. It is predicted that the σ component of fluorescent light exhibits the Hanle effect, which allows one to measure the relaxation rates\Gamma(0)and\Gamma(2)of the population and of the alignment of the emitting level, respectively. Experimental agreement with the theoretical analysis has been found for the3s_{2}, 2s_{2}, and2P_{4}levels of Ne. Among the experimental results obtained by this method are the natural widths and the collision cross sections for population (quenching collision) and for alignment. Several transition probabilities are also derived. Furthermore, the theory of coherent imprisonment of the fluorescent line has been found valid even if laser pumping light is used.
The fluorescent light from two atomic levels is studied assuming that the atoms are subjected to a gas discharge, to a static magnetic field, and, simultaneously, to a laser beam having the transition frequency between the atomic levels. Calculations are developed in the formalism of irreducible tensor operators. One takes into account the existence of isotropic relaxations and cascade effects due to spontaneous emission between the upper and the lower levels. Following Lamb, the laser beam is described classically by its electric field, and its effects are calculated by perturbation theory. It is predicted that the σ component of fluorescent light exhibits the Hanle effect, which allows one to measure the relaxation rates\Gamma(0)and\Gamma(2)of the population and of the alignment of the emitting level, respectively. Experimental agreement with the theoretical analysis has been found for the3s_{2}, 2s_{2}, and2P_{4}levels of Ne. Among the experimental results obtained by this method are the natural widths and the collision cross sections for population (quenching collision) and for alignment. Several transition probabilities are also derived. Furthermore, the theory of coherent imprisonment of the fluorescent line has been found valid even if laser pumping light is used.
Laser-induced fluorescence experiments carried out using linearly polarized photons from a pulsed laser on a excitation - detection scheme in electrical discharges at 0.04 - 0.6 Torr, show that light emitted during the interaction and in the subsequent decay manifests anisotropy in its angular distribution and polarization. A rate equation approach is used to discuss the general features of the interaction between polarized light and atoms observed experimentally. The incident electromagnetic field is decomposed into multipolar components that may interact with the atom through an appropriate coupling. Defining the Einstein coefficients for each coupling, it is possible to introduce the equations for the dynamics of the atomic populations. For each direction and polarization, the temporal profile of the intensity during the transition is calculated. The theoretical prediction explains the outcome of the He experiment satisfactorily, providing that the role of the quenching and of the collision mixing within the manifold of the state is duly taken into account. Fitting of the model calculations to the experimental data then allows one to deduce the value of the `thermally averaged' cross section for collision-induced transitions between fine-structure and degenerate components of the sublevel, , for each J,M in the manifold.
The fluorescence light emitted by atoms (Ne) optically pumped with a multimode laser beam exhibits a resonance each time the Zeeman splitting is equal to the frequency difference between two modes. The experimental study shows that these resonances are very sensitive to the relative phase of modes and that their width is approximately equal to the Hanle effect width. A theoretical interpretation is given with the help of a perturbation calculation. Two phenomena produce resonances : 1) A Population Effect (PE) which is resonant when the σ + component of one mode and the σ- component of another interact with atoms of same velocity (hole crossing). The width of these resonances is 2 Γ'ab (natural width broadened by collisions). 2) A Zeeman Coherence Effect (ZCE) : the action of a pair of modes (ν, σ +) and (μ, σ-) produces (at 2nd order) transverse alignment modulated at the beat frequency ων — ω μ and resonant when the Zeeman splitting is equal to that frequency ; by interaction with a second pair of modes (λ, σ-) and (κ, σ+) (ων —ω μ + ωλ — ωκ = 0), this alignment produces unmodulated longitudinal quantities (4th order) which exhibit, as the magnetic field is scanned, a resonance whose width is close to that of the Hanle curve (Γ b(2)). In our experimental conditions (close modes : Γ'ab≳ Δω > Γ b(2)), the resonances of the first kind are not resolved and the observed resonances are only of the second type's which arevery sensitive to the phases of modes. We also discuss the possibility of using these resonances to measure Landé g factors.
Summary form only given. The resonance laser interaction with an atomic system with degenerate levels creates coherent properties in the medium. Depending on the laser polarization and the experimental geometry it could be alignment, orientation or optical pumping. This coherence could be destroyed by application of a magnetic field, which removes the level degeneracy. This process has an effect on the optical characteristics of the medium, such as absorption and fluorescence from the levels involved. They show the resonance dependence on the applied magnetic field with widths, depending on /spl gamma//sub a/, /spl gamma//sub b/, and /spl gamma//sub ab/, where /spl gamma//sub I/ is the width of the upper or lower state of the transition, resonant to the laser beam, /spl gamma//sub ab/ is the width of the optical transition a/spl rarr/b. Using different experimental geometry, /spl gamma//sub a/, /spl gamma//sub b/, and /spl gamma//sub ab/ could be measured, as well as some rate constants of these levels. We investigated the coherent properties of the 2/sup 3/ P/spl rarr/3/sup 3/ D transition of He I under resonant laser radiation. Due to the peculiarities of the coherent signals, registered in the lateral and forward direction the cross-section for velocity selective collisions for the 3/sup 3/ D He I level were obtained. The influence of the strong laser field on the widths and shapes of the signals was determined. The cross-section, for depolarizing collisions of the 3/sup 3/ D level was measured, too.
A dynamic equation of atoms irradiated by a laser light in a magnetic field is applied to the light modulation experiment of atoms, whose excited states are not optically connected with the ground state. The resonance for the fluorescent light as a function of magnetic field is derived. The resonance curve for the fluorescent light from the lower level is found to be a superposition of resonance curves of two different widths. The broad component is a manifestation of the atomic coherence of the lower level. The narrow component is attributed to the atomic coherence of the upper level which is transferred to the lower level by spontaneous emission. The decay rate of the upper level is included in the expression of the resonance curve for the fluorescent light from the lower level.
In this work we investigate the magneto-optical resonance on 87Rb D1 line. In two-level degenerated system this resonance is due to the interference between the Zeeman sub-levels, created by interaction of resonance linear polarized laser beam with the atoms. The observed signal is detected by sweeping magnetic field B around its zero value. This phenomenon is also known as a Coherent Population Trapping (CPT) in Hanle-configuration. In a coated vacuum cell the fluorescence signal has a complex form, because the anti-relaxation coating preserves the created coherence, having different relaxation rates. The ground state coherence is transmitted by the laser field to the upper level; thereby polarization moments with different rank contribute to the fluorescence. The manifestation of the different polarization moments in the observed signal depends on the geometry of the experiment – direction of observation, plane of the laser polarization, polarization of the registered light. The resonances obtained in the fluorescence having different polarization are compared in order to clear up what are the contributions to the fluorescent signal from the polarization moments with different rank. The experiment is performed on the D1 87Rb line, F=2→ F=1 transition in a paraffin-coated cell. The magneto-optical resonances, detected in two orthogonal polarizations are measured. Numerical calculations with parameters, close to the experimental ones are performed by using a program, which is based on the irreducible tensor operator formalism. The results of the modelling are compared with the measured ones at different experimental conditions.
The optical pumping of atoms by a multimode gas laser, in the presence of a magnetic field, is studied theoretically. The atoms are described by their density matrix, which is expanded on an irreducible tensorial set. The atomic relaxation is assumed to be isotropic. In order to avoid the usual perturbation theory, we use the so-called "Broad-Line approximation" (BLA). BLA is valid when the width of the "Bennett hole" created by one laser mode in the velocity distribution of the excited atoms is comparable to the spacing between modes; under these conditions, the atomic response does not depend on the velocity and the multimode laser irradiation is equivalent to a broad-line excitation. For the atomic system, BLA leads to a set of coupled equations which is valid at arbitrary intensities of the laser field and which depends on this field through a unique parameter, $\ensuremath{\gamma}$. This parameter can be understood as a laser-induced transition probability. In this article, we analyze the nonlinear effects which can be deduced from this theory, for any value of the angular momenta involved in the laser transition: Hanle-effect broadening, alignment coupling, saturation resonances on the populations are shown. The exact calculations, valid at arbitrary laser intensities for $J=1\ensuremath{\leftrightarrow}J=0$, $J=1\ensuremath{\leftrightarrow}J=1$, and $J=1\ensuremath{\leftrightarrow}J=2$ transitions, and the corresponding experimental results will be presented in forthcoming papers.