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Science in China Series A-Mathematics Physics Astronomy & Technological Science

DEFLECTION OF SODIUM ATOMIC BEAM BY RESONANCE LIGHT PRESSURE OF MULTI-LASER-BEAM

Yo-Zhu Wang, Ru-Bing Zhou, Zhiyao Zhou, Wei-Quan Ca, Guoquan Ni, Shanyu Zhou, Changsheng Wang, Wei‐Jun Zheng

Published Aug 20, 1984• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

In this paper we report an experimental study on the deflection of a sodium atomic beamby the resonance light pressure of a multi-laser-beam. We have used the multi-laser-beam tointeract with an atomic beam in order to increase the amount of deflection and to reduce con-siderably the need for laser power. A deflection angle of 1.0×10~(-2) rad and the corresponding displacement of 0.72 cm wereobtained. However, only one dye laser was used to illuminate an atomic beam. A method of laser-induced fluorescence of an atomic beam was employed to probe thedeflection of the atomic beam.

DOI
10.1360/ya1984-27-8-881

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In this paper we report an experimental study on the deflection of a sodium atomic beamby the resonance light pressure of a multi-laser-beam. We have used the multi-laser-beam tointeract with an atomic beam in order to increase the amount of deflection and to reduce con-siderably the need for laser power. A deflection angle of 1.0×10~(-2) rad and the corresponding displacement of 0.72 cm wereobtained. However, only one dye laser was used to illuminate an atomic beam. A method of laser-induced fluorescence of an atomic beam was employed to probe thedeflection of the atomic beam.
We report the efficient transverse deflection of all atoms in a well-collimated sodium atomic beam by the spontaneous radiation pressure of a beam of resonance light which illuminates the atomic beam at right angles. Our results are obtained using two cw single-mode dye lasers to excite the two ground-state levels of sodium; this enables all atoms to interact with the light and it also eliminates optical pumping of the ground state. We obtained deflection angles greater than 5\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{\ensuremath{-}3}$ rad which was ten times the divergence angle of the undeflected atomic beam; these deflections are due to the spontaneous scattering of more than 200 photons by each atom. The distribution of deflection angles is well described by a simple calculation. Fitting theory to experiment indicates that a fractional atomic excitation of 24 percent was obtained at an intensity of approximately 1 W/cm2{\mathrm{cm}}^{2}cm2. When single-frequency light was used, only a fraction of the atoms were deflected, and the deflection angles were much smaller due to optical pumping.
A sodium atomic beam has been decelerated and laser cooled to a longitudinal beam temperature of less than 30 mK. Subsequently these slow atoms with a typical velocity of 100 m/sec were selectively deflected by laser-light forces. The deflection angle was typically 30°. The deflection scheme permits a stabilization of the transverse velocities in the deflected atomic beam down to the quantum-limit temperature for one dimension (0.7 × 240 μK). The experimentally achieved temperatures are of the order of 1 mK.
We have performed experimental and theoretical studies of the deflection of a sodium atomic beam by a laser tuned to the 3 2{\mathrm{}}^{2}2S1/2{S}_{1/2}S1/2​,F=2--3 2{\mathrm{}}^{2}2P3/2{P}_{3/2}P3/2​,F=3 transition. The intensity profile of the deflected beam was measured at different laser power levels and for different laser polarizations. Calculations using a constant force derived from a two-level atom yield deflections which are too large. The results of more realistic simulation calculations agree very well with the measured deflection. Those calculations incorporate the atomic-beam spatial and velocity distributions as well as the laser frequency distribution and polarization state. Optical pumping, loss of atoms to the nonresonant F=1 ground state, and Doppler shifting of the atoms out of resonance are all considered, as also are the statistics and angular distributions of the spontaneous photons.
This thesis presents a theoretical and experimental investigation of the deflection of an atomic beam by an interaction with a near resonant laser. This investigation focuses on the sensitivity of this force to the initial state of an atom. The term deflection spectroscopy is applied to a specific application of the deflection force as a probe of a collisionally created density matrix. For the purpose of demonstrating the state sensitivity, a method of state preparation is presented that can produce both an and off diagonal density matrix elements in the ground state of sodium, simulating those occurring in a collisional excitation. The atomic collision parameter L1 was determined from a measurement of the deflected momentum of a state prepared atomic beam. A full quantum electrodynamic description of the interaction is used to describe the laser - atom interaction. Incorporated in the description is both the preparation of a ground state and a full description of the momentum exchange. The QED equations are applied to the 32S112 to 32P312 transition of atomic sodium for all possible modes of excitation from the "pure" polarisations, circular (a) and linear (it) to an elliptical polarisation involving combinations and relative phase shifts of these two polarisations. In addition the deflection of a J=2 metastable state is considered, and a set of deflection pseudo -Stokes parameters are developed for both the metastable state and the optically prepared sodium ground state. Comparisons between theory and experiment are made. Both fluorescence measurements and transverse momentum measurements are performed and were compared with theory. All aspects of the interaction were investigated with the theory performing well under all experimental conditions. It was found the deflection was sensitive to the preparation of the atomic ground state of sodium and hence it was demonstrated that atom deflection can be used to determine atomic collision parameters.
We have used the resonance radiation pressure from 40 mW of cw dye laser light propagating axially down a tube filled with sodium vapor to increase the sodium pressure (density) up to 50% over a length of 20 cm. The magnitude of the effect agrees well with measurements of the absorbed power. These observations were made with the laser tuned to the low-frequency side of the sodium D2 resonance line; for tuning to the high-frequency side, an additional unexplained effect leading to density decreases was observed.
A method is proposed for generating a near-monoenergetic atomic beam by deflection resulting from the pressure of light of a resonance frequency. A system in which a beam of atoms passes through N periodically distributed regions of interaction with laser radiation is considered: the system ensures a high selectivity in respect of the atomic velocities. The following applications of deflection of monoenergetic atoms are considered: analysis of the velocity distribution in an atomic beam, determination of the lifetime of excited atomic states, and testing of the theory of photon statistics.