Atomic stabilisation in a laser field

Mikhail Vladimirovich Fedorov

Nikolai B. Delone, В. П. Крайнов

Physical phenomena arising in the photoionisation of an atom in a laser radiation field are considered. Theoretical studies conducted by means of various methods are reviewed, predicting the existence of the atomic stabilisation effect — the reduction in photoionisation probability with increasing field strength in a fixed radiation field. Various experiments designed to observe the effect are discussed.

Mikhail Vladimirovich Fedorov

Mikhail Vladimirovich Fedorov

A review is given of the published theoretical and experimental investigations of the interference stabilisation of Rydberg atoms by a strong optical field. The physical nature of the effect, the models used to describe it, the alternative stabilisation mechanisms, and the extent to which the theoretical results match the published experimental data are discussed.

Simon A. Haine

In this thesis we theoretically model a continuously pumped atom laser using the mean-field description. We find that it is unstable below a critical scattering length. Above the critical scattering length, the atom laser reaches a steady state, the stability of which increases with pumping. Below this limit the atom laser does not reach a steady state. We show that this instability results from the competition between gain and loss for the excited states of the lasing mode, and show how the nonlinearities stabilise the system. The requirement for a minimum scattering length will determine a fundamental limit for the linewidth of an atom laser beam. We propose a method of stabilising the system below the critical scattering length and investigate its effectiveness.

V. S. Letkhov, Vladimir G. Minogin