Polarization-rotation resonances with subnatural widths using a control laser

We demonstrate extremely narrow resonances for polarization rotation in an atomic vapor. The resonances are created using a strong control laser on the same transition, which polarizes the atoms due to optical pumping among the magnetic sublevels. As the power in the control laser is increased, successively higher-order nested polarization rotation resonances are created, with progressively narrower linewidths. We study these resonances in the $D_2$ line of Rb in a room-temperature vapor cell, and demonstrate a width of $0.14 \, Γ$ for the third-order rotation. The explanation based on a simplified $Λ$V-type level structure is borne out by a density-matrix analysis of the system. The dispersive lineshape and subnatural width of the resonance lends itself naturally to applications such as laser locking to atomic transitions and precision measurements.

No reviews yet.

No comments yet.