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Acta Physica Sinica

Optical polarization rotation in a rubidium vapor

Mingtao Cao, Qiu Shu-Wei, Guo Wen-Ge, Tao Liu, Han Liang, Hao Liu, Pei Zhang, Shougang Zhang, Gao Hong, Li Fu-Li

Published Jan 1, 2012• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We theoretically and experimentally study the effects of Faraday rotation, optical polarization of self-rotation, and their overlapping rotation. In our theoretical simulation, we set up a simple and effective theoretical model for the three kinds of rotations. In our experiment, the atomic vapor is placed in a magnetic shielding cavity to shield the earth magnetic field. Doppler-free spectrum configuration is used and the F=2 F'=3 transition of 87Rb D2 line is chosen. We observe the three kinds of rotations, separately. Experimental results and theoretical simulations are in good agreement.

DOI
10.7498/aps.61.164208

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We theoretically and experimentally study the effects of Faraday rotation, optical polarization of self-rotation, and their overlapping rotation. In our theoretical simulation, we set up a simple and effective theoretical model for the three kinds of rotations. In our experiment, the atomic vapor is placed in a magnetic shielding cavity to shield the earth magnetic field. Doppler-free spectrum configuration is used and the F=2 F'=3 transition of 87Rb D2 line is chosen. We observe the three kinds of rotations, separately. Experimental results and theoretical simulations are in good agreement.
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We report on a combined experimental and theoretical study of polarization self-rotation in an ultracold atomic sample. In the experiments, a probe laser is tuned in the spectral vicinity of the D1{D}_{1}D1​ line to observe polarization self-rotation in a sample of ultracold 87Rb^{87}\mathrm{Rb}87Rb prepared in a magneto-optical trap (MOT). Systematic measurements of the rotation angle of the light-polarization ellipse as a function of laser intensity, initial ellipticity, and detuning are made. The observations, in good agreement with theoretical simulations, are indicative of the presence of a residual static magnetic field, resulting in measured asymmetries in the rotation angle for right and left ellipticities. In this paper we present our detailed experimental results and analysis of the combined influences of polarization self-rotation and the Faraday effect.
Self-rotation (SR) of elliptically polarized light resonant with atoms in a collision-free vapor is investigated experimentally and theoretically. Results of density matrix calculations are compared to measurements of SR on the Rb D1D1D1 and D2D2D2 lines. It is noted that SR effects involving individual hyperfine transitions are suppressed due to Doppler broadening, and so previously unrecognized effects arising from the interaction of light with multiple hyperfine transitions can become dominant.
Large Faraday rotations can be generated by circular birefringence of atomic samples in an axial magnetic field in the vicinity of atomic resonance lines. More generally, magneto-optical effects in atomic samples include circular dichroism in addition to birefringence, resulting in a modification of the ellipticity as well as the polarization alignment. Usually such effects are investigated for homogeneous linear polarizations, but the mechanisms apply also to polarization structures such as vector vortices. We investigate the effect of optical activity of a rubidium vapor in the hyperfine Paschen–Back regime along the D2 line, for the example of azimuthally polarized input light. We show that for low atomic densities, circular birefringence dominates over dichroism, and azimuthal polarization is rotated toward radial polarization. The rotation angle increases with increasing optical densities. At high vapor temperatures, dichroism becomes more and more relevant, leading to intricate variations of both alignment and ellipticity. Our results shine new light on the interplay between different magneto-optic effects at strong magnetic fields. Their highly sensitive response to detuning may find applications in spectroscopy and quantum sensing.