Nonlinear motions of atoms in a light field

Juha Javanainen

Nonlinear mixing of wave vectors present in the field driving a three-state atom may generate long-wavelength optical forces whose effect on the motion of the atom exceeds by orders of magnitude the influence of the forces familiar from two-state atomic models.

Н. І. Жукова, A. P. Kazantsev, É. F. Kazantsev +1 more

A. P. Kazantsev

A. P. Kazantsev, Vladimir S. Smirnov, Gregory I. Surdutovich +2 more

Kinetic phenomena of resonant-particle motion in a standing-light-wave field are theoretically discussed. The light-pressure force and its fluctuations are found in a wide range of the parameters: the atomic velocity, the intensity, and the detuning of the field. There are two characteristic regions of the detunings in a strong field: the adiabatic region and the region of Landau–Zener resonances. The quantum fluctuations of the inner atomic state that are due to the Landau–Zener transitions result, specifically, in the interference effect in the mean light-pressure force. The effects of the spatial grating of the cooled atoms, the particle velocity bunching, and the recoil-effect dependence on the nonlinear absorption are considered for slow particles. The effect of optical pumping by linearly polarized light taking into account the recoil effect is fundamentally new. Because of this effect, the anisotropic resonance medium becomes gyrotropic.

A. N. Prokshin, I. V. Sokolov, Ya. A. Fofanov

We investigate theoretically the possibility to generate squeezing by the light propagation in thin optical fiber without cover, placed into resonant nonlinear medium. The quantum description is based on the Heisenberg equations of motion for the atomic and field variables. The physical conditions for squeezing are evaluated.