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arXiv · 1910.06131

Generation of atomic spin orientation with a linearly polarised beam in room-temperature alkali-metal vapour

Patrick Bevington·Rafal Gartman·Witold Chalupczak
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Abstract

Traditionally, atomic spin orientation is achieved by the transfer of angular momentum from polarised light to an atomic system. We demonstrate the mechanism of orientation generation in room-temperature caesium vapours that combines three elements: optical pumping, non-linear spin dynamics and spin-exchange collisions. Through the variation of the spin-exchange relaxation rate, the transition between an aligned and an oriented atomic sample is presented. The observation is performed by monitoring the atomic radio-frequency spectra. The measurement configuration discussed, paves the way to simple and robust radio-frequency atomic magnetometers that are based on a single low power laser diode that approach the performance of multi-laser pump-probe systems.

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Patrick Bevington, Rafal Gartman, Witold Chalupczak. 2020-01-20. Generation of atomic spin orientation with a linearly polarised beam in room-temperature alkali-metal vapour. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreva.101.013436

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