Generation of atomic spin orientation with a linearly polarized beam in room-temperature alkali-metal vapor

Bevington, P. and Gartman, R. and Chalupczak, W. (2020) Generation of atomic spin orientation with a linearly polarized beam in room-temperature alkali-metal vapor. Physical Review A, 101 (1). 013436. ISSN 2469-9926 (https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.101.013436)

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Abstract

Traditionally, atomic spin orientation is achieved by the transfer of angular momentum from polarized light to an atomic system. We demonstrate the mechanism of orientation generation in room-temperature caesium vapors that combines three elements: optical pumping, nonlinear 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 multilaser pump-probe systems.

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