The problem of the two-level atom laser is studied analytically. The steady-state solution is expressed as a continued fraction, and allows for accurate approximation by rational functions. Moreover, we show that the abrupt change observed in the pump dependence of the steady-state population is directly connected with the transition to the lasing regime. The condition for a sharp transition to Poissonian statistics is expressed as a scaling limit of vanishing cavity loss and light-matter coupling, $κ\to 0$, $g \to 0$, such that $g^2/κ$ stays finite and $g^2/κ> 2 γ$, where $γ$ is the rate of atomic losses. The same scaling procedure is also shown to describe a similar change to Poisson distribution in the Scully-Lamb laser model too, suggesting that the low-$κ$, low-$g$ asymptotics is of a more general significance for the laser transition.
We present a wave atom optics theory of the Collective Atomic-Recoil Laser, where the atomic center-of-mass motion is treated quantum mechanically. It extends the previous ray atom optics theory, which treated the center-of-mass atomic motion classically, to the realm of ultracold atoms. For the case of a far off resonant pump laser we derive an analytical solution which gives the linear response of the CARL system for both the quantum and classical regimes. A linear stability analysis reveals significant qualitative differences between these two regimes, which arise from the effects of diffra…
We developed a high-power laser system at a wavelength of 399 nm for laser cooling of ytterbium atoms with ultraviolet laser diodes. The system is composed of an external cavity laser diode providing frequency stabilized output at a power of 40 mW and another laser diode for amplifying the laser power up to 220 mW by injection locking. The systematic method for optimization of our injection locking can also be applied to high power light sources at any other wavelengths. Our system, which does not depend on complex nonlinear frequency-doubling, has great importance for implementing transportab…
We propose a mechanism to produce a superposition of atomic and molecular states by a train of ultrashort laser pulses combined with weak control fields. By adjusting the repetition rate of the pump pulses and the intensity of the coupling laser, one can suppress a transition while simultaneously enhancing the desired transitions. As an example, various superpositions of vibrational states of the $K_2$ molecule are shown.
The uniformity of the intensity and phase of laser beams is crucial to high-performance atom interferometers. Inhomogeneities in the laser intensity profile cause contrast reductions and systematic effects in interferometers operated with atom sources at micro-Kelvin temperatures, and detrimental diffraction phase shifts in interferometers using large momentum transfer beam splitters. We report on the implementation of a so-called top-hat laser beam in a long-interrogation-time cold-atom interferometer to overcome the issue of the inhomogeneous laser intensity encountered when using Gaussian l…
We show that atoms subject to laser radiation may form a non-additive many-body system on account of their long-range forces, when the atoms are trapped in the vicinity of a fiber with a Bragg grating. When the laser frequency is inside the grating's bandgap but very close to its edge, we find that the range and strength of the laser-induced interaction becomes substantially enhanced, due to the large density of states near the edge, while the competing process of scattering to the fiber is inhibited. The dynamics of the atomic positions in this system conforms to a prominent model of statisti…
We have constructed a solid-state light source for experiments with laser cooled lithium atoms based on a Nd:YVO$_4$ ring laser with second-harmonic generation. Unidirectional lasing, an improved mode selection, and a high output power of the ring laser was achieved by weak coupling to an external cavity which contained the lossy elements required for single frequency operation. Continuous frequency tuning is accomplished by controlling two PZTs in the internal and the external cavities simultaneously. The light source has been utilized to trap and cool fermionic lithium atoms into the quantum…
We study the peformances of Raman velocimetry applied to laser-cooled, spin-polarized, cesium atoms. Atoms are optically pumped into the F=4, m=0 ground-state Zeeman sublevel, which is insensitive to magnetic perturbations. High resolution Raman stimulated spectroscopy is shown to produce Fourier-limited lines, allowing, in realistic experimental conditions, atomic velocity selection to one-fiftieth of a recoil velocity.
We experimentally investigate the generation of above-threshold harmonics completely from argon atoms on an excited state using mid-infrared femtosecond laser pulses. The highly nonlinear dependences of the observed signal on the pulse energy and polarization of the driver laser pulses indicate its non-perturbative characteristic.
We report on the generation of 500 mW of spectrally pure laser light at the 460.86 nm transition used for laser cooling of strontium atoms. To this end we inject a high power single mode laser diode with light from a stabilized extended cavity diode laser. To optimize and monitor the injection status and the spectral purity of the slave diode we developed a novel technique that uses a single passive optical element. A narrow band interference filter generates a suitable monitoring signal without any additional electronics for post processing of the data. Our method greatly simplifies the daily…
Bad cavity lasers are experiencing renewed interest in the context of active optical frequency standards, due to their enhanced robustness against fluctuations of the laser cavity. The gain medium would consist of narrow-linewidth atoms, either trapped inside the cavity or intersecting the cavity mode dynamically. A series of effects like the atoms finite velocity distribution, atomic interactions, or interactions of realistic multilevel atoms with auxiliary or stray fields can lead to an inhomogeneous broadening of the atomic gain profile. This causes the emergence of instable regimes of lase…
The stationary state of a single-atom (single-qubit) laser is shown to be a phase-averaged nonlinear coherent state - an eigenstate of a specific deformed annihilation operator. The solution found for the stationary state is unique and valid for all regimes of the single-qubit laser operation. We have found the parametrization of the deformed annihilation operator which provides superconvergence in finding the stationary state by iteration. It is also shown that, contrary to the case of the usual laser with constant Einstein coefficients describing transition probabilities, for the single-atom…
We describe a scheme, operating in a manner analogous to a reversed Raman output coupler, for measuring the phase-sensitive quadrature statistics of an atom laser beam. This scheme allows for the transferral of the atomic field statistics to an optical field, for which the quantum statistics may then be measured using the well-developed technology of optical homodyne measurement.
Hybrid systems of cold atoms and optical cavities are promising systems for increasing the stability of laser oscillators used in quantum metrology and atomic clocks. In this paper we map out the atom-cavity dynamics in such a system and demonstrate limitations as well as robustness of the approach. We investigate the phase response of an ensemble of cold strontium-88 atoms inside an optical cavity for use as an error signal in laser frequency stabilization. With this system we realize a regime where the high atomic phase-shift limits the dynamical locking range. The limitation is caused by th…
We theoretically analyze the quantum vortices - the zeros of electron wave function which are formed through atom ionization by ultrashort laser pulse. In 2D space we consider the case of above-threshold ionization of hydrogen atom and in 3D space the ionization of the atom in the zero-radius-potential approximation. With the help of obtained analytical results we make the assumption that localization of quantum vortices in 3D space can be predicted by analysis of 2D model.
The combination of ultra-cold atomic clouds with the light fields of optical cavities provides a powerful model system for the development of new types of laser cooling and for studying cooperative phenomena. These experiments critically depend on the precise tuning of an incident pump laser with respect to a cavity resonance. Here, we present a simple and reliable experimental tuning scheme based on a two-mode laser spectrometer. The scheme uses a first laser for probing higher-order transversal modes of the cavity having an intensity minimum near the cavity's optical axis, where the atoms ar…
We present a theoretical study of strong laser-atom interactions, when the laser field parameters are subjected to random processes. The atom is modelled by a two-level and three-level systems, while the statistical fluctuations of the laser field are described by a pre-Gaussian model.
Using extreme-ultraviolet attosecond-pulse-trains, we investigate the photoionization dynamics of a Helium atom in the presence of moderately-strong (~10^12 W/cm^2) femtosecond laser pulses. The electronic structure of a laser-dressed atom is traced in real-time through precision measurements of ion-yields and photo-electron angular distributions. Quantum interferences between photo-excitation paths are interpreted using the Floquet formalism. As the laser pulse intensity ramps on femtosecond timescales, we observe transitions between ionization channels mediated by different atomic resonances…
We address the problem of achieving a random laser with a cloud of cold atoms, in which gain and scattering are provided by the same atoms. In this system, the elastic scattering cross-section is related to the complex atomic polarizability. As a consequence, the random laser threshold is expressed as a function of this polarizability, which can be fully determined by spectroscopic measurements. We apply this idea to experimentally evaluate the threshold of a random laser based on Raman gain between non-degenerate Zeeman states and find a critical optical thickness on the order of 200, which i…
We present an analytical solution for a radiation balanced fiber laser, in which no net heat is generated during lasing operation due to cooling by anti-Stokes fluorescence. The results are in excellent agreement with the numerical solutions. Using realistic values for fiber laser parameters, the analytical solutions presented are proposed as an economically desirable alternative to time-consuming, direct numerical calculations.
We demonstrate a \SI{650}{\mW} \SI{243}{\nm} continuous-wave laser coupled to a linear optical enhancement cavity. The enhancement cavity can maintain $>$\SI{30}{\W} of intracavity power for \SI{1}{\hour} of continuous operation without degradation. This system has sufficient power for a demonstration of two-photon laser cooling of hydrogen and may be useful for experiments on other simple two-body atomic systems.
We compare the analytical and numerical predictions of noise in nano- and microcavity lasers obtained from a rate equation model with stochastic Langevin noise. Strong discrepancies are found between the two approaches and these are critically analyzed and explained on the basis of general considerations and through the comparison to the numerical predictions of a Stochastic Laser Simulator. While the analytical calculations give reliable redictions, the numerical results are entirely incorrect thus unsuitable for predicting the dynamics and statistical properties of small lasers.
Here a detailed formalism to achieve an analytical solution of a lossy high power Yb-doped silica fiber laser is introduced. The solutions for the lossless fiber laser is initially attained in detail. Next, the solution for the lossy fiber laser is obtained based on the lossless fiber laser solution. To examine the solutions for both lossless and lossy fiber laser two sets of values are compared with the exact numerical solutions and the results are in a good agreement. Furthermore, steps and procedures for achieving the final solutions are explained clearly and precisely.
A coupled-wave model is developed for photonic-crystal quantum cascade lasers. The analytical model provides an efficient analysis of full three-dimensional large-area device structure, and the validity is confirmed via simulations and previous experimental results.
A compact and robust laser system, based on a frequency-doubled telecom laser, providing all the lasers needed for a rubidium cold atom interferometer using optical lattices is presented. Thanks to an optical switch at 1.5 μm and a dual-wavelength second harmonic generation system, only one laser amplifier is needed for all the laser system. Our system delivers at 780 nm a power of 900 mW with a detuning of 110 GHz for the optical lattice and a power of 650 mW with an adjustable detuning between 0 and -1 GHz for the laser cooling, the detection and the Raman transitions.
