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Emergence of Collective Light Scattering in Atomic 87Rb Samples

Kasie Kemp

Published Jan 1, 2016• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Over the past half century, atomic ensembles have been used to create sensors, clocks, and quantum information systems. As these devices become more compact, and as the number of atoms increases to improve the sensitivity for detection, the atomic samples are increasing in density and optical depth. As such, the spectroscopic properties of the atomic media are modified due to interactions among the particles in the ensemble. We report investigation of near-resonance light scattering from a cold atomic sample of 87Rb. Initially prepared in a magneto-optical trap, the atoms are loaded into a far-off-resonance optical dipole trap (FORT) in which the ensemble has a temperature near 100 mK and initial Gaussian radii of approximately 3 mm and 280 mm in the transverse and longitudinal directions, respectively. With atomic densities in the range of 1010 - 1013 atoms/cm3, measurements are made on the F=2 -> F'=3 nearly closed hyperfine transition. The experimental geometry consists of projecting a near-resonance collimated laser beam onto the entire volume of the FORT and detecting the diffusely scattered light. The measured scattered light intensity as a function of detuning, atomic number, and sample size suggests that collective light scattering depends on the optical depth of the system.

DOI
10.25777/1dtp-xz71

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Over the past half century, atomic ensembles have been used to create sensors, clocks, and quantum information systems. As these devices become more compact, and as the number of atoms increases to improve the sensitivity for detection, the atomic samples are increasing in density and optical depth. As such, the spectroscopic properties of the atomic media are modified due to interactions among the particles in the ensemble. We report investigation of near-resonance light scattering from a cold atomic sample of 87Rb. Initially prepared in a magneto-optical trap, the atoms are loaded into a far-off-resonance optical dipole trap (FORT) in which the ensemble has a temperature near 100 mK and initial Gaussian radii of approximately 3 mm and 280 mm in the transverse and longitudinal directions, respectively. With atomic densities in the range of 1010 - 1013 atoms/cm3, measurements are made on the F=2 -> F'=3 nearly closed hyperfine transition. The experimental geometry consists of projecting a near-resonance collimated laser beam onto the entire volume of the FORT and detecting the diffusely scattered light. The measured scattered light intensity as a function of detuning, atomic number, and sample size suggests that collective light scattering depends on the optical depth of the system.
We report investigation of near-resonance light scattering from a cold and dense atomic gas of 87Rb^{87}\mathrm{Rb}87Rb atoms. Measurements are made for probe frequencies tuned near the $F=2\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{F}^{\ensuremath{'}}=3$ nearly closed hyperfine transition, with particular attention paid to the dependence of the scattered light intensity on detuning from resonance, the number of atoms in the sample, and atomic sample size. We find that, over a wide range of experimental variables, the optical depth of the atomic sample serves as an effective single scaling parameter which describes well all the experimental data.
The main objective of this research is to study a particular case of light-matter interaction: the scattering of light in dense atomic samples.The regime of high atomic densities is represented by samples where the distance between neighboring atoms is on the order of the wavelength associated with the atomic transition.In this regime, short-range atomic interactions cannot be neglected, and in these systems, we expect to observe significant modifications in collective effects such as subradiance or superradiance.Overall, the propagation of light through this type of system is not well-known to the scientific community, and the existing models work to describe very specific situations.To pave the way for achieving our overall goal, this work proposes an experimental setup to obtain a dense cloud of 88 Sr, which is the chemical species we work with in our laboratory.For this purpose, atoms previously trapped using a Magneto-Optical Trap are transferred to a Crossed Optical Dipole Trap.During the optimization and characterization of the optical trap, problems were encountered in producing an image with quantitative information of the atomic ensemble and in transferring a large number of atoms in a very small trapping volume.These problems were resolved with the implementation of a Phase Contrast Imaging system and the implementation of an Optical Molasses as an additional cooling step.Under these conditions, we obtained a cloud that can be suitable for conducting studies on collective effects, transitioning from the dilute to the dense regime.The initial experiments, once our atomic ensemble was prepared, involve measuring the coherent transmission of a low-intensity beam through the cloud.For this purpose, incident light near the resonance of a dipolar transition of the type J = 0 ↔ J = 1 of 88 Sr is used, interacting with a homogeneous region of the sample.Simulations of this type of process can be performed using the Coupled Dipole Model, which describes the overall response of light scattering by the sample considering dipole-dipole interactions mediated by light.With this work, we aim to advance the understanding of density effects by comparing the coherent optical response of the dense cloud with the theory based on the Coupled Dipole Model.
The main objective of this research is to study a particular case of light-matter interaction: the scattering of light in dense atomic samples. The regime of high atomic densities is represented by samples where the distance between neighboring atoms is on the order of the wavelength associated with the atomic transition. In this regime, short-range atomic interactions cannot be neglected, and in these systems, we expect to observe significant modifications in collective effects such as subradiance or superradiance. Overall, the propagation of light through this type of system is not well-known to the scientific community, and the existing models work to describe very specific situations. To pave the way for achieving our overall goal, this work proposes an experimental setup to obtain a dense cloud of 88Sr, which is the chemical species we work with in our laboratory. For this purpose, atoms previously trapped using a Magneto-Optical Trap are transferred to a Crossed Optical Dipole Trap. During the optimization and characterization of the optical trap, problems were encountered in producing an image with quantitative information of the atomic ensemble and in transferring a large number of atoms in a very small trapping volume. These problems were resolved with the implementation of a Phase Contrast Imaging system and the implementation of an Optical Molasses as an additional cooling step. Under these conditions, we obtained a cloud that can be suitable for conducting studies on collective effects, transitioning from the dilute to the dense regime. The initial experiments, once our atomic ensemble was prepared, involve measuring the coherent transmission of a low-intensity beam through the cloud. For this purpose, incident light near the resonance of a dipolar transition of the type J = 0 ↔ J = 1 of 88Sr is used, interacting with a homogeneous region of the sample. Simulations of this type of process can be performed using the Coupled Dipole Model, which describes the overall response of light scattering by the sample considering dipole-dipole interactions mediated by light. With this work, we aim to advance the understanding of density effects by comparing the coherent optical response of the dense cloud with the theory based on the Coupled Dipole Model.
We report a combined experimental and theoretical investigation of near-resonance light scattering from a high-density and ultracold atomic 87{}^{87}87Rb gas. The atomic sample, having a peak density $\ensuremath{\sim}$$5\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{13}$ atoms/cm3{}^{3}3, temperature $\ensuremath{\sim}$65 $\ensuremath{\mu}$K, and initially prepared in the F=1F=1F=1 lower-energy 87{}^{87}87Rb hyperfine component, is optically pumped to the higher-energy F=2F=2F=2 hyperfine level. Measurements are made of the transient hyperfine pumping process and of the time evolution of scattering of near-resonance probe radiation on the $F=2\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{F}^{\ensuremath{'}}=3$ transition. Features of the density, detuning, and temporal dependence of the signals are attributed to the high density and consequent large optical depth of the samples.
We study the emergence of collective scattering in the presence of dipole-dipole interactions when we illuminate a cold cloud of rubidium atoms with a near-resonant and weak intensity laser. The size of the atomic sample is comparable to the wavelength of light. When we gradually increase the number of atoms from 1 to ~450, we observe a broadening of the line, a small redshift and, consistently with these, a strong suppression of the scattered light with respect to the noninteracting atom case. We compare our data to numerical simulations of the optical response, which include the internal level structure of the atoms.
We report measurements of near-resonance light scattering from an ultracold sample of 87Rb^{87}\text{R}\text{b}87Rb atoms formed in a magneto-optical trap (MOT). Time-dependent measurements of scattering of probe radiation tuned in the vicinity of the $F=1\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{F}^{\ensuremath{'}}=0$ hyperfine transition of the D2{D}_{2}D2​ resonance line reveal dynamics due to Zeeman optical pumping on this transition in competition with diffusive light scattering in the optically dense sample. Zeeman mixing effects due to small residual magnetic fields also play an important role in the scattered light dynamics and reveal surprising sensitivity to the field strength. The various processes are examined as a function of probe-laser power, detuning from atomic resonance, and the presence or absence of the spatially inhomogeneous MOT quadrupole field.