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Physical Review Letters

Deflection of a Na Beam by Resonant Standing-Wave Radiation

E. Arimondo, Hin Lew, Takeshi Oka

Published Sep 10, 1979• 70 citations
Publisher

Abstract

A symmetric deflection of a Na beam by resonant standing-wave radiation has been observed. The combination of absorption and stimulated emission of the two oppositely traveling waves ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{+}$ and ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{\ensuremath{-}}$ results in a net deflection of the beam. The observed magnitude of the beam deflection and its dependence on the radiation power agree with a calculation based on the random-walk picture that the two traveling waves ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{+}$ and ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{\ensuremath{-}}$ are utilized randomly in the stimulated-emission and absorption processes.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.43.753

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A symmetric deflection of a Na beam by resonant standing-wave radiation has been observed. The combination of absorption and stimulated emission of the two oppositely traveling waves \ensuremathω+{\ensuremath{\omega}}_{+}\ensuremathω+​ and \ensuremathω\ensuremath−{\ensuremath{\omega}}_{\ensuremath{-}}\ensuremathω\ensuremath−​ results in a net deflection of the beam. The observed magnitude of the beam deflection and its dependence on the radiation power agree with a calculation based on the random-walk picture that the two traveling waves \ensuremathω+{\ensuremath{\omega}}_{+}\ensuremathω+​ and \ensuremathω\ensuremath−{\ensuremath{\omega}}_{\ensuremath{-}}\ensuremathω\ensuremath−​ are utilized randomly in the stimulated-emission and absorption processes.
Preliminary experimental results are reported for the deflection of Na atoms in an atomic beam by a transverse standing-wave laser field whose frequency is tuned between the two ground-state hyperfine components of the D2{D}_{2}D2​ line. In contrast to the two experiments done previously, a splitting of the beam into two symmetric peaks whose separation increases with the electric-field is seen here. In addition, the data show evidence for atomic diffraction: a tendency for scattered atoms to acquire momentum in multiples of $2\ensuremath{\hbar}k$.
We have observed momentum transfer from a standing-wave light field to an atomic beam. The atomic beam is split symmetrically into two peaks whose separation increases with field strength. The short interaction time ensures that this deflection is due to induced forces; these are described using a semiclassical dressed-atom treatment, which gives good agreement with the data. In addition to the splitting, we have observed diffraction of the atomic beam due to the exchange of even numbers of photons with the field.
We have observed both diffractive and diffusive regimes in the transfer of momentum to an atomic beam by a standing-wave radiation field. The momentum transfer was measured by passing a well-collimated beam of sodium atoms through a focused standing-wave laser waist. A narrow velocity distribution beam was obtained by utilizing a supersonic expansion and a two-state system was realized by optically pumping the beam prior to the interaction. The transverse momentum transferred to the atomic beam by the radiation field was measured by scanning a detector downstream from the interaction. The overall momentum resolution of the apparatus is less than the momentum of a single photon. The transition from diffractive to diffusive behavior is associated with an increase in the average number of spontaneous decays occurring during the interaction. In the diffractive regime, spontaneous decay is insignificant and momentum transfer proceeds by pairs of absorption/stimulated emission processes. This produces momentum exchange quantized in even multiples of photon momentum, the so-called Kapitza-Dirac effect; the deflection patterns show oscillatory structure. In the diffusive regime, spontaneous decay is important and causes fluctuations in the radiative forces. In addition, the recoil distribution associated with spontaneous decay results in a washing out of the diffraction peaks associated with stimulated processes, resulting in a smooth deflection pattern.
We have performed experimental and theoretical studies of the deflection of a sodium atomic beam by a laser tuned to the 3 2{\mathrm{}}^{2}2S1/2{S}_{1/2}S1/2​,F=2--3 2{\mathrm{}}^{2}2P3/2{P}_{3/2}P3/2​,F=3 transition. The intensity profile of the deflected beam was measured at different laser power levels and for different laser polarizations. Calculations using a constant force derived from a two-level atom yield deflections which are too large. The results of more realistic simulation calculations agree very well with the measured deflection. Those calculations incorporate the atomic-beam spatial and velocity distributions as well as the laser frequency distribution and polarization state. Optical pumping, loss of atoms to the nonresonant F=1 ground state, and Doppler shifting of the atoms out of resonance are all considered, as also are the statistics and angular distributions of the spontaneous photons.
We demonstrate that a bichromatic standing-wave laser field can exert a significantly larger force on a molecule than ordinary radiation pressure. Our experiment measures the deflection of a pulsed supersonic beam of CaF molecules by a two-frequency laser field detuned symmetrically about resonance with the nearly closed $X(v=0)\ensuremath{\rightarrow}B({v}^{\ensuremath{'}}=0)$ transition. The inferred force as a function of relative phase between the two counterpropagating beams is in reasonable agreement with numerical simulations of the bichromatic force in this multilevel system. The large magnitude of the force, coupled with the reduced rate of spontaneous emission, indicates its potential utility in the production and manipulation of ultracold molecules.