Influence of magnetic-field inhomogeneity on nonlinear magneto-optical resonances

S. Pustelny, D. F. Jackson Kimball, S. M. Rochester, V. V. Yashchuk, and D. Budker
Phys. Rev. A 74, 063406 – Published 12 December 2006

Abstract

In this work, a sensitivity of the rate of relaxation of ground-state atomic coherences to magnetic-field inhomogeneities is studied. Such coherences give rise to many interesting phenomena in light-atom interactions, and their lifetimes are a limiting factor for achieving better sensitivity, resolution, or contrast in many applications. For atoms contained in a vapor cell, some of the coherence-relaxation mechanisms are related to magnetic-field inhomogeneities. We present a simple model describing relaxation due to such inhomogeneities in a buffer-gas-free antirelaxation-coated cell. A relation is given between relaxation rate and magnetic-field inhomogeneities including the dependence on cell size and atomic species. Experimental results, which confirm predictions of the model, are presented. Different regimes, in which the relaxation rate is equally sensitive to the gradients in any direction and in which it is insensitive to gradients transverse to the bias magnetic field, are predicted and demonstrated experimentally.

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  • Received 9 August 2006

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.74.063406

©2006 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

S. Pustelny

  • Centrum Badań Magnetooptycznych, M. Smoluchowski Institute of Physics, Jagiellonian University, Reymonta 4, 30-059 Kraków, Poland

D. F. Jackson Kimball

  • Department of Physics, California State University-East Bay, 25800 Carlos Bee Boulevard, Hayward, California 94542, USA

S. M. Rochester

  • Department of Physics, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720-7300, USA

V. V. Yashchuk

  • Advanced Light Source Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA

D. Budker

  • Department of Physics, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720-7300, USA and Nuclear Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA

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Vol. 74, Iss. 6 — December 2006

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