Magnetic field dependence of Raman coupling in Alkali atoms

Abstract

We calculate the magnetic field dependence of Rabi rates for two-photon optical Raman processes in alkali atoms. Due to a decoupling of the nuclear and electronic spins, these rates fall with increasing field. At the typical magnetic fields of alkali atom Feshbach resonances (B\sim 200G-1200G), the Raman rates have the same order of magnitude as their zero field values, suggesting one can combine Raman-induced gauge fields/spin-orbital coupling with strong Feshbach-induced interactions. The exception is $^6$Li, where there is a factor of 7 suppression in the Raman coupling, compared to its already small zero-field value.