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Optics Letters

Polarization-driven spin precession of mesospheric sodium atoms

Felipe Pedreros Bustos, Domenico Bonaccini Calia, Dmitry Budker, Mauro Centrone, Joschua Hellemeier, Paul Hickson, Ronald Holzlöhner, Simon Rochester

Published Nov 27, 2018• 12 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We report experimental on-sky observations of atomic spin precession of mesospheric sodium driven by polarization modulation of a continuous-wave laser. A magnetic resonance was remotely detected from the ground by observing the enhancement of induced fluorescence when the driving frequency approached the precession frequency of sodium in the mesosphere, between 85 and 100 km altitude. The experiment was performed at La Palma, and the uncertainty (0.2 kHz) in the measured Larmor frequency (≈260 kHz) corresponded to an error in the geomagnetic field of 0.3 mG. The results are consistent with geomagnetic field models and with the theory of light-atom interaction in the mesosphere.

DOI
10.1364/ol.43.005825

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We report experimental on-sky observations of atomic spin precession of mesospheric sodium driven by polarization modulation of a continuous-wave laser. A magnetic resonance was remotely detected from the ground by observing the enhancement of induced fluorescence when the driving frequency approached the precession frequency of sodium in the mesosphere, between 85 and 100 km altitude. The experiment was performed at La Palma, and the uncertainty (0.2 kHz) in the measured Larmor frequency (≈260 kHz) corresponded to an error in the geomagnetic field of 0.3 mG. The results are consistent with geomagnetic field models and with the theory of light-atom interaction in the mesosphere.
We report experimental results on the first on-sky observation of atomic spin precession of mesospheric sodium driven by polarization modulation of a continuous-wave laser. The magnetic resonance was remotely detected from the ground by observing the enhancement of induced fluorescence when the driving frequency approached the precession frequency of sodium in the mesosphere, between 85 km and 100 km altitude. The experiment was performed at La Palma, and the uncertainty in the measured Larmor frequency ($\approx$260 kHz) corresponded to an error in the geomagnetic field of 0.4 mG. The results are consistent with geomagnetic field models and with the theory of light-atom interaction in the mesosphere.
Measurement and monitoring of geomagnetic field in the mesosphere has many potential applications such as detection of oceanic currents, mapping of large-scale magnetic structures, and study of electric-current fluctuations in the ionosphere. Remote measurement of the geomagnetic field can be performed by optical pumping of sodium atoms in the mesosphere with an amplitude modulated (AM) light at the Larmor precession frequency, and observing the magnetic resonance in fluorescence at a ground station. In this context, we have conducted an experiment in the laboratory to demonstrate remote magnetic field measurement using fluorescence signal from a sodium cell. Sodium atoms in the cell are interrogated with AM light produced by an acousto-optic modulator (AOM), introduced in the beam path of a frequency-doubled amplified sodium laser made in our laboratory. Magnetic resonance observed in sodium cell fluorescence is studied as a function of varying magnetic field intensity. Characteristics of the magnetic resonance such as linewidth and contrast (or SNR), and their dependence on optical power density, AM duty cycle, B-field orientation and intensity are studied. Theoretical modeling and experimental measurements are also carried out to determine the sensitivity of the magnetometer for realizing remote magnetometry with mesospheric sodium atoms.
We report on magneto-optical resonances observed in sodium fluorescence from D2 manifold with an intensity-modulated light. Fluorescence resonances are measured in the perpendicular (90°) and backward (180°) directions to the light propagation in laboratory experiments using a sodium cell containing neon buffer gas. Properties of these resonances are studied by varying the magnetic field at fixed-light modulation frequency, and vice-versa. Modulation with low-duty cycle shows higher-harmonic resonances of the modulation frequency and sub-harmonic resonances of the Larmor frequency. A dark resonance with maximum amplitude for laser wavelength closer to the crossover peak is observed. The origin of this dark resonance observed in Na D2 line is discussed using a theoretical model. Present study is aimed towards improving the understanding of magneto-optical resonances for remote magnetometry applications with mesospheric sodium.
Magnetic resonance of sodium fluorescence is studied with varying laser intensity, duty cycle, and field strength. A magnetometer based on a sodium vapor cell filled with He buffer gas is demonstrated, using a single amplitude-modulated laser beam. With a 589 nm laser tuned at the D1 or D2 line, the magnetic field is inferred from the variation of fluorescence. A magnetic field sensitivity of 150 pT/Hz is achieved at the D1 line. The work is an important step toward sensitive remote magnetometry with mesospheric sodium.