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Tenth International Conference on Information Optics and Photonics

Spatial transparency in atomic vapor: effects of transverse magnetic field on cylindrical vector beams

Yan Ma, Hong Chang, X. H. Bai, Mingtao Cao, Ruifang Dong, Shougang Zhang

Published Dec 5, 2024• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The interaction between cylindrical vector beams and atoms under a weak magnetic field induces spatially dependent electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). Based on this coherence effect, we investigated the relationship between the magnitude and orientation of the transverse magnetic field (TMF) and the spatial intensity distribution of cylindrical vector beams passing through a thermal atom ensemble, which is intuitively manifested in polarization selection absorption. The radially polarized beam exhibits a spatial axisymmetric polarization structure. When a TMF is applied, transparent regions in the transmitted beam strongly correlate with the beam’s polarization distribution. Variations in the TMF magnitude alter the absorption of specific polarization components by the atomic system, thereby affecting the local transmittance. This enables the TMF magnitude to be inferred from the single transmittance of the intensity pattern. The alignment of the TMF orientation is reflected in the rotation of the petal-shaped transmission patterns aligned with the mirror axis. Theoretical solutions using optical Bloch equations reveal this specific spatially dependent EIT is closely related to the transverse relaxation rate between the ground state energy levels. Experimental data align perfectly with the theoretical results, suggesting potential applications in light field manipulation and magnetic field measurement.

DOI
10.1117/12.3048754

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The interaction between cylindrical vector beams and atoms under a weak magnetic field induces spatially dependent electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). Based on this coherence effect, we investigated the relationship between the magnitude and orientation of the transverse magnetic field (TMF) and the spatial intensity distribution of cylindrical vector beams passing through a thermal atom ensemble, which is intuitively manifested in polarization selection absorption. The radially polarized beam exhibits a spatial axisymmetric polarization structure. When a TMF is applied, transparent regions in the transmitted beam strongly correlate with the beam’s polarization distribution. Variations in the TMF magnitude alter the absorption of specific polarization components by the atomic system, thereby affecting the local transmittance. This enables the TMF magnitude to be inferred from the single transmittance of the intensity pattern. The alignment of the TMF orientation is reflected in the rotation of the petal-shaped transmission patterns aligned with the mirror axis. Theoretical solutions using optical Bloch equations reveal this specific spatially dependent EIT is closely related to the transverse relaxation rate between the ground state energy levels. Experimental data align perfectly with the theoretical results, suggesting potential applications in light field manipulation and magnetic field measurement.
Abstract The interaction between vector beams and atoms under a weak magnetic field could induce spatially dependent electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). Based on such a coherence effect, we propose a method for manipulating vector beams carrying spiral varying phases in hot rubidium atoms. When a transverse magnetic field (TMF) is applied, the transparent regions of the transmitted beam are strongly depend on the beam’s polarization distribution. In addition to the intensity modulation, the alignment of the TMF is reflected in the rotation of the central symmetric transmission patterns. In theory, we discuss the physical mechanism of the spiral EIT region generated by the phase profile, and analyze the influence of system parameters on this coherent process. Our work confirms that introducing additional radial phases can also lead to spatially dependent EIT, which extends another degree of freedom to manipulate atomic polarization. This will provide potential applications in light field manipulation and multi-dimensional quantum storage.
We propose and demonstrate an experimental implementation for the observation of magnetic fields from spatial features of absorption profiles in a warm atomic vapor. A radially polarized vector beam that traverses atomic vapor will generate an absorption pattern with a petal-like structure by the mediation of a transverse magnetic field (TMF). The spatial absorption pattern rotates when the azimuthal angle of the TMF is changed, while its contrast decreases when the longitudinal component of the magnetic field increases. By analyzing the intensity distribution of the transmitted pattern, we can determine the magnetic field strength. Our work provides a framework for investigating 3D magnetic field distributions based on atoms.
In recent years, vector beams (VBs) with spatially varying polarization profiles have been used in many fields. Here we study the transmission properties of a hybrid VB passing through atomic vapor. We observe a four-petal pattern which is induced by the rapid transport of atomic coherence. This intensity distribution can be modified by coherence attenuation and absorption enhancement controlled by an external magnetic field. A second experiment with orthogonal circularly polarized states shows that the quantum coherence can be induced by two spatially separated laser beams and support our interpretation of our results for the hybrid VB experiment. Our results may have applications in optical manipulation, the measurement of magnetic fields, and the study of quantum coherence in atomic ensembles.
The effect of a vector magnetic field was studied on electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) with linear ⊥ linear polarization of the probe and pump beams in 87 R b − D 2 transition with a vapor cell at room temperature. The dependence of EIT on the direction of the quantization axis and the relative orientation of the polarizations of the applied electric fields was studied experimentally. We show that from the relative strengths of σ and π EITs, the direction of the magnetic field can be found. Moreover, from the relative separation between σ and π EITs, the strength of the magnetic field can be calculated. We also demonstrate that the EIT peak amplitudes show oscillatory behavior depending upon the orientation of the laser polarization relative to the magnetic field direction. To understand the experimental observations, a theoretical study was done numerically considering all 13 Zeeman sub-levels. Apart from the numerical simulation, a toy model was also constructed to obtain an analytical response of the medium considering the velocity distribution. The dependencies of the magnetic field direction and polarization direction of the electric field were explicitly derived with the analytical model.
Recent years have seen vast progress in the generation and detection of structured light, with potential applications in high capacity optical data storage and continuous variable quantum technologies. Here we measure the transmission of structured light through cold rubidium atoms and observe regions of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT), using the phase profile as control parameter for the atomic opacity. With q plates we generate a probe beam with azimuthally varying phase and polarization structure, and its right and left circular polarization components provide the probe and control of an EIT transition. We observe an azimuthal modulation of the absorption profile that is dictated by the phase and polarization structure of the probe laser. Conventional EIT systems do not exhibit phase sensitivity. We show, however, that a weak transverse magnetic field closes the EIT transitions, thereby generating phase-dependent dark states which in turn lead to phase-dependent transparency, in agreement with our measurements.
Abstract The relationship between the magnetic field direction and the spatial intensity distribution of a radially polarized light passing through a polarized thermal atom ensemble is investigated, which is intuitively presented in a polarization selection absorption effect of thermal atoms. The radially polarized light has a spatial axisymmetric polarization structure, which is set as the probe beam. If the direction of the applied magnetic field is transformed, the absorption of the alignment atomic system to special polarization components of the probe light is changed, resulting in a different absorption ratio. This allows the 3D vector direction of the magnetic field to be inferred by using only the absorption ratio and the projection coefficient of the transmission intensity pattern. Based on this, this work provides a compass based on a thermal atom system, demonstrating a new method for measuring the magnetic field direction in space.