Abstract
We present an experimental and theoretical study of a scalar atomic magnetometer using an oscillating field-driven Zeeman resonance in a high-density optically pumped potassium vapor. We describe an experimental implementation of an atomic gradiometer with a noise level below , fractional field sensitivity below , and an active measurement volume of about . We show that the fundamental field sensitivity of a scalar magnetometer is determined by the rate of alkali-metal spin-exchange collisions even though the resonance linewidth can be made much smaller than the spin-exchange rate by pumping most atoms into a stretched spin state.
- Received 8 November 2006
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.80.033420
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