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arXiv · 2110.10673

Engineering atomic polarization with microwave-assisted optical pumping

A. Tretiakov·C. A. Potts·Y. Y. Lu·J. P. Davis·L. J. LeBlanc
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Abstract

Polarized atomic ensembles play a crucial role in precision measurements. We demonstrate a novel method of creating atomic polarization in an alkali vapor in a continuous-wave regime. The method relies on a combination of optical pumping by a laser beam and microwave transitions due to a cavity-enhanced magnetic field. With this approach, atomic internal angular momentum can be oriented along a static magnetic field at an arbitrary angle with respect to the laser beam. Furthermore, the atomic polarization depends on the microwave parameters, which can be used for microwave-to-optical transduction and microwave-controlled nonlinear magneto-optical rotation.

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A. Tretiakov, C. A. Potts, Y. Y. Lu, J. P. Davis, L. J. LeBlanc. 2021-10-20. Engineering atomic polarization with microwave-assisted optical pumping. https://arxiv.org/abs/2110.10673

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