No Arabic abstract
Nonlinear magneto-optical (NMO) resonances occurring for near-zero magnetic field are studied in Rb vapor using light-noise spectroscopy. With a balanced detection polarimeter, we observe high contrast variations of the noise power (at fixed analysis frequency) carried by diode laser light resonant with the 5S$_{1/2}(F=2) to 5$P$_{1/2}(F=1) $ transition of $^{87}$Rb and transmitted through a rubidium vapor cell, as a function of magnetic field $B$. A symmetric resonance doublet of anti-correlated noise is observed for orthogonal polarizations around $B=0 $ as a manifestation of ground state coherence. We also observe sideband noise resonances when the magnetic field produces an atomic Larmor precession at a frequency corresponding to one half of the analysis frequency. The resonances on the light fluctuations are the consequence of phase to amplitude noise conversion owing to nonlinear coherence effects in the response of the atomic medium to the fluctuating field. A theoretical model (derived from linearized Bloch equations) is presented that reproduces the main qualitative features of the experimental signals under simple assumptions.
Experimental signals of non-linear magneto-optical resonances at D1 excitation of natural rubidium in a vapor cell have been obtained and described with experimental accuracy by a detailed theoretical model based on the optical Bloch equations. The D1 transition of rubidium is a challenging system to analyze theoretically because it contains transitions that are only partially resolved under Doppler broadening. The theoretical model took into account all nearby transitions, the coherence properties of the exciting laser radiation, and the mixing of magnetic sublevels in an external magnetic field and also included averaging over the Doppler profile. Great care was taken to obtain accurate experimental signals and avoid systematic errors. The experimental signals were reproduced very well at each hyperfine transition and over a wide range of laser power densities, beam diameters, and laser detunings from the exact transition frequency. The bright resonance expected at the F_g=1 --> F_e=2 transition of Rb-87 has been observed. A bright resonance was observed at the F_g=2 --> F_e=3 transition of Rb-85, but displaced from the exact position of the transition due to the influence of the nearby F_g=2 --> F_e=2 transition, which is a dark resonance whose contrast is almost two orders of magnitude larger than the contrast of the bright resonance at the F_g=2 --> F_e=3 transition. Even in this very delicate situation, the theoretical model described in detail the experimental signals at different laser detunings.
We study several new magneto-optical trapping configurations in $^{87}$Rb. These unconventional MOTs all use type-II transitions, where the angular momentum of the ground state is greater than or equal to that of the excited state, and they may use either red-detuned or blue-detuned light. We describe the conditions under which each new MOT forms. The various MOTs exhibit an enormous range of lifetimes, temperatures and density distributions. At the detunings where they are maximized, the lifetimes of the various MOTs vary from 0.1 to 15 s. One MOT forms large ring-like structures with no density at the centre. The temperature in the red-detuned MOTs can be three orders of magnitude higher than in the blue-detuned MOTs. We present measurements of the capture velocity of a blue-detuned MOT, and we study how the loss rate due to ultracold collisions depends on laser intensity and detuning.
We report the detection of high-contrast and narrow Coherent Population Trapping (CPT) Ramsey fringes in a Cs vapor cell using a simple-architecture laser system. The latter allows the combination of push-pull optical pumping (PPOP) and a temporal Ramsey-like pulsed interrogation. An originality of the optics package is the use of a single Mach-Zehnder electro-optic modulator (MZ EOM) both for optical sidebands generation and light switch for pulsed interaction. Typical Ramsey fringes with a linewidth of 166 Hz and a contrast of 33 % are detected in a cm-scale buffer-gas filled Cs vapor cell. This technique could be interesting for the development of high-performance and low power consumption compact vapor cell clocks based on CPT.
We demonstrate the simultaneous magneto-optical trapping (MOT) of Rb and Sr and examine the characteristic loss of Rb in the MOT due to photoionization by the cooling laser for Sr. The photoionization cross section of Rb in the $5P_{3/2}$ state at 461 nm is determined to be $1.4(1)times10^{-17}$ cm$^2$. It is important to consider this loss rate to realize a sufficiently large number of trapped Rb atoms to achieve a quantum degenerate mixture of Rb and Sr.
We demonstrate highly efficient generation of coherent 420nm light via up-conversion of near-infrared lasers in a hot rubidium vapor cell. By optimizing pump polarizations and frequencies we achieve a single-pass conversion efficiency of 260% per Watt, significantly higher than in previous experiments. A full exploration of the coherent light generation and fluorescence as a function of both pump frequencies reveals that coherent blue light is generated close to 85Rb two-photon resonances, as predicted by theory, but at high vapor pressure is suppressed in spectral regions that do not support phase matching or exhibit single-photon Kerr refraction. Favorable scaling of our current 1mW blue beam power with additional pump power is predicted.