Reduction of frequency-dependent light shifts in light-narrowing regimes: A study using effective master equations

Yue Chang, Yu-Hao Guo, and Jie Qin
Phys. Rev. A 99, 063411 – Published 17 June 2019

Abstract

Alkali-metal-vapor magnetometers, using coherent precession of polarized atomic spins for magnetic-field measurement, have become one of the most sensitive magnetic-field detectors. Their application areas range from practical uses such as NMR signal detection to fundamental physics research such as searches for permanent electric dipole moments. One of the main noise sources of atomic magnetometers comes from the light shift that depends on the frequency of the pump laser. In this work, we theoretically study the light shift, taking into account the relaxation due to the optical pumping and the collision between alkali-metal atoms and between alkali-metal atoms and the buffer gas. Starting from a full master equation containing both the ground and excited states, we adiabatically eliminate the excited states and obtain an effective master equation in the ground-state subspace that shows an intuitive picture and dramatically accelerates the numerical simulation. Solving this effective master equation, we find that in the light-narrowing regime, where the linewidth is reduced while the coherent precession signal is enhanced, the frequency dependence of the light shift is largely reduced, which agrees with experimental observations in cesium magnetometers. Since this effective master equation is general and is easily solved, it can be applied to an extensive parameter regime, and also to study other physical problems in alkali-metal-vapor magnetometers, such as heading errors.

  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Received 10 November 2018

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.99.063411

©2019 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Atomic, Molecular & Optical

Authors & Affiliations

Yue Chang*, Yu-Hao Guo, and Jie Qin

  • Beijing Automation Control Equipment Institute, Beijing 100074, China and Quantum Technology R&D Center of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, Beijing 100074, China

  • *yuechang7@gmail.com
  • jie.qin@yahoo.com

Article Text (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

References (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 99, Iss. 6 — June 2019

Reuse & Permissions
Access Options
Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Physical Review A

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×