We report experimental and theoretical examinations of the peculiarities in Velocity Selective Optical Pumping (VSOP) resonance behavior at open and closed hyperfine transition spectra of Cs atoms (on the D2 line), confined in optical cell with thickness L = 6λ, where λ = 852 nm. For linear and circular polarizations of the irradiating light, open transitions exhibit reduced absorption (fluorescence) VSOP resonances whose contrast increases with atomic concentration and light intensity. However, in case of closed transition the situation is different, the enhanced absorption (fluorescence) VSOP resonance reverses its sign with the atomic concentration and light intensity. Theoretical analysis based on the density matrix formalism, taking into account the statistical tensors describing atomic population and longitudinal alignment, shows that the VSOP resonance sign reversal at the closed transition can be attributed to the efficiency reduction of population transfer by the spontaneous decay with atomic source temperature.

Date Published: 15 March 2013
PDF: 11 pages
Proc. SPIE 8770, 17th International School on Quantum Electronics: Laser Physics and Applications, 87700N (15 March 2013); doi: 10.1117/12.2013506

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8770:
17th International School on Quantum Electronics: Laser Physics and Applications
Tanja N. Dreischuh; Albena T. Daskalova, Editor(s)