Production and Diagnosis of a Highly Spin-Polarized Na Beam

Authors

G. W. Schinn
Xianming Han, Butler UniversityFollow
A. Gallagher

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1991

Publication Title

Journal of the Optical Society of America B

First Page

169

Last Page

173

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/JOSAB.8.000169

Abstract

We describe optically pumping a beam of sodium atoms to >96% m_S and >92% m_S, m_I state selection. (We have accurately measured the population of every m_S, m_I state in the optically pumped beam.) For the optical pumping both ground hyperfine states are pumped, using single-mode cw dye-laser radiation tuned to the 3S_1/2–3P_1/2 transition that is phase modulated in a LiTaO₃ crystal to produce first-order sidebands at approximately the 1772-MHz hyperfine splitting of the ground state. The z-directed optical pumping is performed in a z-directed magnetic field of ~5 G. The state-selected atoms then move, in ~1 cm, into an ~200 G, z-directed field. The downstream probe laser beam is scanned through the 3S_1/2 (m_S, m_I) → 3P_3/2 (m_S′, m_I) transitions, which are spectroscopically resolved at 200 G, and the fluorescence intensities portray the residual populations in each of the eight 3S_1/2 states.

Rights

Version of record can be found through

Recommended Citation

Schinn, G. W.; Han, Xianming; and Gallagher, A., "Production and Diagnosis of a Highly Spin-Polarized Na Beam" Journal of the Optical Society of America B / (1991): 169-173.
Available at https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/facsch_papers/760