How weak is a weak probe in laser spectroscopy?

Autor:	Ben Sherlock, Ifan G. Hughes
Rok vydání:	2009
Předmět:	Physics education.field_of_study Opacity Population General Physics and Astronomy chemistry.chemical_element Laser law.invention Rubidium Optical pumping chemistry law Ultrafast laser spectroscopy Atom Physics::Atomic Physics Atomic physics Spectroscopy education
Zdroj:	American Journal of Physics. 77:111-115
ISSN:	1943-2909 0002-9505
DOI:	10.1119/1.3013197
Popis:	Laser spectroscopy experiments are often conducted with a probe that does not significantly alter the medium’s properties. For a two-level atom a clear measure of the strength of a probe beam in terms of the saturation intensity is known. We show that for a multilevel atom the situation is very different, and the effects of optical pumping are crucial to understanding the opacity of the medium. We present a simple theoretical analysis for Doppler-broadened spectroscopy of alkali metals on the D2 line that emphasizes the importance of the transient nature of the population dynamics, and the crucial role of the distribution of the times of flight of atoms through the probe beam. Experimental results are obtained with room temperature rubidium vapor probed by an extended-cavity diode laser and confirm our theoretical prediction.
Databáze:	OpenAIRE
Externí odkaz:	https://explore.openaire.eu/search/publication?articleId=doi_________::a9fcd378548bbd194fdf17635e0cdc97 https://doi.org/10.1119/1.3013197 Zobrazit plný text záznamu