Polarization-driven spin precession of mesospheric sodium atoms
| Autor: | Ronald Holzlöhner, Felipe Pedreros Bustos, Domenico Bonaccini Calia, S. M. Rochester, Dmitry Budker, Mauro Centrone, Joschua Hellemeier, Paul Hickson |
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| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2018 |
| Předmět: |
Atomic Physics (physics.atom-ph)
Sodium chemistry.chemical_element FOS: Physical sciences 7. Clean energy 01 natural sciences law.invention Physics::Geophysics Physics - Atomic Physics 010309 optics Optics law 0103 physical sciences Physics::Atomic Physics 010306 general physics Spin (physics) Circular polarization Larmor precession Physics business.industry Laser Polarization (waves) Atomic and Molecular Physics and Optics Magnetic field Earth's magnetic field chemistry Physics::Space Physics Astrophysics::Earth and Planetary Astrophysics Atomic physics business |
| Popis: | We report experimental results on the first on-sky observation of atomic spin precession of mesospheric sodium driven by polarization modulation of a continuous-wave laser. The magnetic resonance was remotely detected from the ground by observing the enhancement of induced fluorescence when the driving frequency approached the precession frequency of sodium in the mesosphere, between 85 km and 100 km altitude. The experiment was performed at La Palma, and the uncertainty in the measured Larmor frequency ($\approx$260 kHz) corresponded to an error in the geomagnetic field of 0.4 mG. The results are consistent with geomagnetic field models and with the theory of light-atom interaction in the mesosphere. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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