Detection of slow atoms confined in a Cesium vapor cell by spatially separated pump and probe laser beams
Petko Todorov, Nikoolay Petrov, Isabelle Maurin, Solomon Saltiel, Daniel Bloch
备注：
proceedings of 17th International School on Quantum Electronics: Laser Physics and Applications, neesebar, bulgaria Sept 2012 edited by Tanja Dreischuh, Albena Daskalova
The velocity distribution of atoms in a thermal gas is usually described through a Maxwell-Boltzman distribution of energy, and assumes isotropy. As a consequence, the probability for an atom to leave the surface under an azimuth angle θ should evolve as cos θ, in spite of the fact that there is no microscopic basis to justify such a law. The contribution of atoms moving at a grazing incidence towards or from the surface, i.e. atoms with a small normal velocity, here called "slow" atoms, reveals essential in the development of spectroscopic methods probing a dilute atomic vapor in the vicinity of a surface, enabling a sub-Doppler resolution under a normal incidence irradiation. The probability for such "slow" atoms may be reduced by surface roughness and atom-surface interaction. Here, we describe a method to observe and to count these slow atoms relying on a mechanical discrimination, through spatially separated pump and probe beams. We also report on our experimental progresses toward such a goal.
Vapor cells with antirelaxation coating are widely used in modern atomic physics experiments due to the coating's ability to maintain the atoms' spin polarization during wall collisions. We characterize the performance of vapor cells with different coating materials by measuring longitudinal spin relaxation and vapor density at temperatures up to 95°C. We found that the spin-projection-noise-limited sensitivity for atomic magnetometers with such cells improves with temperature, which demonstrates the potential of antirelaxation coated cells in applications of future high-sensitivity magnetomet…
We study radio-frequency spectrum of ellipticity noise of a probe laser beam transmitted through a cell with cesium vapor in a magnetic field. The experimental results are interpreted in terms of the model proposed by Gorbovitskii and Perel (Opt. Spektrosc. 54, 388 (1983)) according to which the observed noise arises due to heterodyning of the light scattered by fluctuations of the tensor $ α$ of optical susceptibility of cesium vapor. We show, both experimentally and theoretically, that, in the noise measurements if this kind, along with fluctuations of the antisymmetric (gyrotropic) part of …
We experimentally investigated Rabi resonance-based continuously frequency-tunable microwave (MW) magnetic field detection using a single hybrid vapor cell filled with cesium and rubidium atoms. The multispecies atomic systems, with their tunable abilities in transition frequencies, enabled this atomic sensing head to cover a broader detectable MW field scope compared to the use of a single metal atom. Here, we demonstrated the simultaneous observation of atomic Rabi resonance signals with 85Rb, 87Rb, and 133Cs in the same vapor cell. Using an experimentally feasible static magnetic field (DC …
We report on the observation of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) and absorption (EIA) of highly excited Rydberg states in thermal Cs vapor using a four-step excitation scheme. The advantage of this four-step scheme is that the final transition to the Rydberg state has a large dipole moment and one can achieve similar Rabi frequencies to two- or three-step excitation schemes using two orders of magnitude less laser power. This scheme enables new applications such as dephasing free Rydberg excitation. The observed lineshapes are in good agreement with simulations based on multileve…
We demonstrate the single-photon excitation spectra of cesium Rydberg atoms by means of a Doppler-free purely all-optical detection with a room-temperature vapor cell and a 319 nm ultra-violet (UV) laser. We excite atoms directly from 6S1/2 ground state to 71P3/2 Rydberg state with a narrow-linewidth 319 nm UV laser. The detection of Rydberg states is performed by monitoring the absorption of an 852 nm probe beam in a V-type three-level system. With a strong coupling light, we observe the Autler-Townes doublet and investigate experimentally the dependence of the separation and linewidth on the…
We report on studies of simultaneous continuous-wave mirrorless lasing on multiple optical transitions, realized by pumping hot cesium vapor with laser light resonant with the 6$S_{1/2}\rightarrow 8$P$_{3/2}$ transition. The multiplicity of decay paths for the excited atoms to their ground state is responsible for the emergence of lasing in a number of transitions, observed here in at least seven wavelengths in the infrared (IR), and at two wavelengths in the blue. We study the properties of the fields generated in the cesium vapor, such as optical power, directionality and optical linewidth.
The $6S_{1/2}-5D_{5/2}$ electric quadrupole transition is investigated in Cesium vapor at room temperature via nonlinear Doppler-free 6P-6S-5D three-level spectroscopy. Frequency-resolved studies of individual E2 hyperfine lines allow one to analyze optical pumping dynamics, polarization selection rules and line intensities. It opens the way to studies of transfer of light orbital angular momentum to atoms, and the influence of metamaterials on E2 line spectra.
Using the inherent timing stability of pulses from a mode-locked laser, we have precisely measured the cesium $6P_{3/2}$ excited state lifetime. An initial pump pulse excites cesium atoms in two counter-propagating atomic beams to the $6P_{3/2}$ level. A subsequent synchronized probe pulse ionizes atoms which remain in the excited state, and the photo-ions are collected and counted. By selecting pump pulses which vary in time with respect to the probe pulses, we obtain a sampling of the excited state population in time, resulting in a lifetime value of 30.462(46) ns. The measurement uncertaint…
We report on the storage of light via the phenomenon of Coherent Population Oscillation (CPO) in an atomic cesium vapor at room temperature. In the experiment the optical information of a probe field is stored in the CPO of two ground states of a Lambda three-level system formed by the Zeeman sublevels of the hyperfine transition F = 3 - F' = 2 of cesium D2 line. We show directly that this CPO based memory is very insensitive to stray magnetic field inhomogeneities and presents a lifetime which is mainly limited only by atomic motion. A theoretical simulation of the measured spectra was also d…
We demonstrate a single-photon Rydberg excitation spectroscopy of cesium (Cs) atoms in a room-temperature vapor cell. Cs atoms are excited directly from 6S1/2 ground state to nP3/2 (n = 70 - 100) Rydberg states with a 318.6 nm ultraviolet (UV) laser,and Rydberg excitation spectra are obtained by transmission enhancement of a probe beam resonant to Cs 6S1/2, F = 4 - 6P3/2, F' = 5 transition as partial population on F = 4 ground state are transferred to Rydberg state .Analysis reveals that the observed spectra are velocity-selective spectroscopy of Rydberg state, from which the amplitude and lin…
Spontaneous emission from individual atoms in vapor lasts nanoseconds, if not microseconds, and beatings in this emission involve only directly excited energy sublevels. In contrast, the superfluorescent emissions burst on a much-reduced timescale and their beatings involve both directly and indirectly excited energy sublevels. In this work, picosecond and femtosecond superfluorescent beatings are observed from a dense cesium atomic vapor. Cesium atoms are excited by 60-femtosecond long, 800 nm laser pulses via two-photon processes into their coherent superpositions of the ground 6S and excite…
We have developed a torsion balance to detect the rotation of a cell containing spin-polarized gaseous atoms to study angular momentum transfer from gaseous atoms to solid. A cesium vapor cell was hung from a thin wire in a vacuum chamber, and irradiated from the bottom with circularly polarized light tuned to the $D_2$ transition to polarize cesium atoms in the cell. By varying the light helicity at the resonance frequency of the torsion balance, we induced forced rotational oscillation of the cell and detected radiation torque exerted on the cesium vapor cell through the cesium atoms inside.…
We investigate the phenomenon of optical bistability in a driven ensemble of Rydberg atoms. By performing two experiments with thermal vapors of rubidium and cesium, we are able to shed light onto the underlying interaction mechanisms causing such a non-linear behavior. Due to the different properties of these two atomic species, we conclude that the large polarizability of Rydberg states in combination with electric fields of spontaneously ionized Rydberg atoms is the relevant interaction mechanism. In the case of rubidium, we directly measure the electric field in a bistable situation via tw…
Direct frequency-comb spectroscopy is used to probe the absolute frequencies of $6S_{1/2}$-$8S_{1/2}$ two-photon transitions of atomic cesium in hot vapor environment. By utilizing the coherent control method of temporally splitting the laser spectrum above and below the two-photon resonance frequency, Doppler-free absorption is built in two spatially distinct locations and imaged for high-precision spectroscopy. Theoretical analysis finds that these transition lines are measured with uncertainty below $5\times10^{-10}$, mainly contributed from laser-induced AC Stark shift.
We describe and use a time-resolved pump-stimulated emission pump spectroscopic technique to measure collisional relaxation in a high-lying energy level of atomic cesium. Aligned $8p\,^2P_{3/2}$ cesium atoms were produced by a pump laser. A second laser, the stimulated emission pump, promoted the population exclusively to the $5d\,^2D_{5/2}$ level. The intensity of the $5d\,^2D_{5/2}\rightarrow6s\,^2S_{1/2}$ cascade fluorescence at 852.12 nm was monitored. The linear polarization dependence of the $6s\,^2S_{1/2}\rightarrow8p\,^2P_{3/2}\rightarrow5d\,^2S_{5/2}$ transition was measured in the pr…
Dynamic hybrid optical pumping effects with a radio-frequency-field-driven nonlinear magneto-optical rotation (RF NMOR) scheme are studied in a dual-species paraffin coated vapor cell. By pumping K atoms and probing $^{87}$Rb atoms, we achieve an intrinsic magnetic resonance linewidth of 3 Hz and the observed resonance is immune to power broadening and light-shift effects. Such operation scheme shows favorable prospects for atomic magnetometry applications.
We uncover a highly nontrivial dependence of the spin-noise (SN) resonance broadening induced by the intense probe beam. The measurements were performed by probing the cell with cesium vapor at the wavelengths of the transition ${6}^2S_{1/2} \leftrightarrow {6}^2P_{3/2}$ ($\mathrm{D}_2$ line) with the unresolved hyperfine structure of the excited state. The light-induced broadening of the SN resonance was found to differ strongly at different slopes of the $\mathrm{D}_2$ line and, generally, varied nonmonotonically with light power. We discuss the effect in terms of the phenomenological Bloch …
We study Rydberg atoms modulated by strong radio-frequency (RF) fields with a frequency of 70 MHz. The Rydberg atoms are prepared in a room temperature cesium cell, and their level structure is probed using electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). As the RF field increases from the weak- into the strong-field regime, the range of observed RF-induced phenomena progresses from AC level shifts through increasingly pronounced and numerous RF-modulation sidebands to complex state-mixing and level-crossings with high-l hydrogen-like states. Weak anharmonic admixtures in the RF field generate …
We study the excitation redistribution from cesium $7\mathrm{P}_{1/2}$ or $7\mathrm{P}_{3/2}$ to neighboring energy levels by Black Body Radiation (BBR) and inter atomic collisions using pump-probe spectroscopy inside a vapor cell. At low vapor densities we measure redistribution of the initial, velocity-selected, atomic excitation by BBR. This preserves the selected atomic velocities allowing us to perform high resolution spectroscopy of the $\mathrm{6D\rightarrow 7F}$ transitions. This transfer mechanism could also be used to perform sub-Doppler spectroscopy of the cesium highly-excited $\ma…
We report a measurement of the lifetime of the cesium $7s\,^2S_{1/2}$ state using time-correlated single-photon counting spectroscopy in a vapor cell. We excite the atoms using a Doppler-free two-photon transition from the $6s\,^2S_{1/2}$ ground state, and detect the 1.47$μ$m photons from the spontaneous decay of the $7s\,^2S_{1/2}$ to the $6p\,^2P_{3/2}$ state. We use a gated single photon detector in an asynchronous mode, allowing us to capture the fluorescence profile for a window much larger than the detector gate length. Analysis of the exponential decay of the photon count yields a $7s\,…
Dual-Faraday-laser-pumped cesium beam clock with $7.7\times 10^{-13}/\sqrtτ$ frequency stability
Peking University（北京大学）；Beijing Vacuum Electronics Research Institute（北京真空电子技术研究所）；Longgang Advanced Quantum Technology Institute Co., Ltd.（龙岗先进量子技术研究院有限公司）；Hefei National Laboratory（合肥国家实验室）
We present the results of a study on relaxation and diffusion processes of rubidium atoms in a rubidium cell with an internal vapor source. The cell is an evacuated glass bulb, which is characterized in that the source of atomic vapors in the form of a metal film Rb is evenly distributed throughout the inner surface of the bulb, and the paraffin film is uniformly distributed over the entire area and over the metal surface. By using laser optical pumping, we performed measurements of the relaxation time and the average number of bounces of optical pumped rubidium atoms in the bulb. We have meas…
We investigate atom-based electric-field calibration and polarization measurement of a 100-MHz linearly polarized radio-frequency (RF) field using cesium Rydberg-atom electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in a room-temperature vapor cell. The calibration method is based on matching experimental data with the results of a theoretical Floquet model. The utilized 60$D_J$ fine structure Floquet levels exhibit $J$- and $m_j$-dependent AC Stark shifts and splittings, and develop even-order RF-modulation sidebands. The Floquet map of cesium 60$D_J$ fine structure states exhibits a series of …
In this work, we demonstrate a microwave magnetic field imaging technique based on Rabi resonance with a cesium atom vapor cell. Rabi resonance signals are generated when atoms interact with a phase-modulated microwave (MW) field and are detected by a photodiode and camera. A low noise, high quantum efficiency camera is used to capture a series of frames for different phase modulation frequencies. Rabi frequencies of each spatial point in the field can be measured by scanning the frames. Thus, the strength of the MW magnetic field distribution is obtained by combing the Rabi frequencies, measu…
We experimentally demonstrate hyperfine optical pumping of rubidium atoms probed by an evanescent electromagnetic field at a dielectric-vapor interface. This light-atom interaction at the nanoscale is investigated using a right angle prism integrated with a vapor cell and excited by evanescent wave under total internal reflection. An efficient hyperfine optical pumping, leading to a complete suppression of absorption on the probed evanescent signal, is observed when a pump laser beam is sent at normal incidence to the interface. In contrast, when the pump and probe beams are co-propagating in …
We optically excite $^{85}$Rb atoms in a heated vapor cell to a low-lying Rydberg state 10D$_{5/2}$ and observe directional terahertz (THz) beams at 3.3 THz and 7.8 THz. These THz fields are generated by amplified spontaneous emission from the 10D$_{5/2}$ state to the 11P$_{3/2}$ and 8F$_{7/2}$ states, respectively. In addition, we observe ultraviolet (UV) light produced by four-wave mixing of optical pump lasers and the 3.3 THz field. We characterize the generated THz power over the detuning and power of pump lasers, and identify experimental conditions favoring THz and UV generation, respect…
The observation of strongly interacting many-body phenomena in atomic gases typically requires ultracold samples. Here we show that the strong interaction potentials between Rydberg atoms enable the observation of many-body effects in an atomic vapor, even at room temperature. We excite Rydberg atoms in cesium vapor and observe in real-time an out-of-equilibrium excitation dynamics that is consistent with an aggregation mechanism. The experimental observations show qualitative and quantitative agreement with a microscopic theoretical model. Numerical simulations reveal that the strongly correl…
I searched for the ground state 6.8 and 9.2 GHz hyperfine transitions of rubidium and cesium toward M- and L-dwarfs that show Rb and Cs optical resonance lines. The optical lines can pump the hyperfine transitions, potentially forming masers. These spin-flip transitions of Rb and Cs are the principal transitions used in atomic clocks (the $^{133}$Cs hyperfine transition defines the second). If they are detected in stellar atmospheres, these transitions would provide exceptionally precise clocks that can be used as accelerometers, as exoplanet detectors, as probes of the predictions of general …
