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Relaxation of atomic polarization in paraffin-coated cesium vapor cells

M. T. Graf·D. F. Kimball·S. M. Rochester·K. Kerner·C. Wong·D. Budker·E. B. Alexandrov·M. V. Balabas
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Abstract

The relaxation of atomic polarization in buffer-gas-free, paraffin-coated cesium vapor cells is studied using a variation on Franzen's technique of ``relaxation in the dark'' [Franzen, Phys. Rev. {\bf 115}, 850 (1959)]. In the present experiment, narrow-band, circularly polarized pump light, resonant with the Cs D2 transition, orients atoms along a longitudinal magnetic field, and time-dependent optical rotation of linearly polarized probe light is measured to determine the relaxation rates of the atomic orientation of a particular hyperfine level. The change in relaxation rates during light-induced atomic desorption (LIAD) is studied. No significant change in the spin relaxation rate during LIAD is found beyond that expected from the faster rate of spin-exchange collisions due to the increase in Cs density.

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M. T. Graf, D. F. Kimball, S. M. Rochester, K. Kerner, C. Wong, D. Budker, E. B. Alexandrov, M. V. Balabas. 2005-03-26. Relaxation of atomic polarization in paraffin-coated cesium vapor cells. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreva.72.023401

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