Interaction Between Laser and Thermal-Alkali Atomic Ensemble: Progress and Prospect

Weiyi Wang; Zhen Chai

doi:10.3788/LOP222049

Laser & Optoelectronics Progress, Volume. 60, Issue 15, 1500005(2023)

Interaction Between Laser and Thermal-Alkali Atomic Ensemble: Progress and Prospect

Weiyi Wang^1,2 and Zhen Chai^1,2、*

Author Affiliations

¹School of Instrumentation and Optoelectronic Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China

²Hangzhou Innovation Institute, Beihang University, Hangzhou 310023, Zhejiang, China

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Figures & Tables(8)

Fig. 1. Structure diagram of energy level splitting of ground state and first excited state of a Rb atom. (a) Orbital energy level (orbital spin $L_{1} = 0, L_{2} = 1$ ); (b) fine structure energy level (electron spin $S = 1 / 2$ ); (c) hyperfine structure energy level (nuclear spin $I = 3 / 2$ )

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Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of atomic magnetometer principle

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Fig. 3. Basic response curves of atomic magnetometer. (a) Absorption curve (solid line); (b) dispersion curve (dashed line)

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Fig. 4. Schematic diagram of CPT atomic clock principle. (a) $Λ$ energy level configuration; (b) typical EIT absorption line type

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Table 1. Physical mechanisms of various atomic relaxation processes^[46]

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Table 1. Physical mechanisms of various atomic relaxation processes^[46]

Relaxation mechanism	Potential	Typical phenomenon	Typical parameter	Reference
Near field dipole moment interaction	$(D_{A} \cdot D_{B}) - 3 D_{A} \cdot {\hat{R}}_{A B} \times {\hat{R}}_{A B} \cdot D_{B} R^{- 3}$	Self-broadening of optical lines and self-depolarization of excited states；foreign gas broadening	Resonant interaction cross section $σ_{D N} ~ 10^{- 13} c m^{2}$	［47］
Radiation field dipole moment interaction	$(D_{A} \cdot {\hat{R}}_{A B} {\hat{R}}_{A B} \cdot D_{B} - 3 D_{A} \cdot D_{B}) k^{2} R^{- 1}$	Radiation trapping；coherence narrowing	Relaxation times depend on container shape	［48］
Electron spin exchange interaction	$V ({\hat{R}}_{A B}) S_{A} \cdot S_{B}$	Approach to spin temperature equilibrium；conservation of total spin	Interaction cross section $σ_{D R} ~ 10^{- 14} c m^{2}$	［49-50］
Coupling of electron spin to orbital spin	$V (\hat{R}) N \cdot S$	Disorientation of S-state atoms by wall collisions and buffer-gas collisions	Interaction cross section $σ_{L S} ~ 10^{- 19}$ $- 10^{- 26} c m^{2}$	［51］
Coupling of electron spin to nuclear spin	$S \cdot T (\hat{R}) \cdot I$	Disorientation of S-state atoms by wall collisions and buffer-gas collisions；nuclear polarization by spin exchange with electrons	Interaction cross section $σ_{I S} ~ 10^{- 24} c m^{2}$	［52］
nuclear quadrupole moment	$\frac{1}{6} \nabla E : Q$	Wall relaxation of nuclear spins of diamagnetic atoms	Depends on sticking time at wall，field gradients at wall，nuclear quadrupole moment，etc.	［53］
Random motion in an inhomogeneous magnetic field	$\frac{v \cdot (\nabla H \times H) \cdot I}{\| H \|^{2}}$	Relaxation of ${}^{3} H e$ ground-state atoms	Depends on field gradient and mean free path	［54-55］
Scattering of resonant light	$- \frac{e}{m c} p \cdot A$	Relaxation of pumped atoms to polarized equilibrium state	Typical pumping times are on order of milliseconds or longer	［56］
Diffusion of atoms	Diffusion rate is proportional to average free path and average velocity of atom	Spatial motion of polarized atoms to container walls by random walk through a buffer gas	A few milliseconds in a cm scale cell	［57］

Table 2. Parameters of SERF atomic magnetometers in different alkali atomic gas chambers

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Table 2. Parameters of SERF atomic magnetometers in different alkali atomic gas chambers

Atomic species	Heating temperature / $℃$	Sensitivity /（ $f T \sqrt[]{H z}$ ）	Year	Reference
Potassium	190	10	2002	［66］
	180	0.54	2003	［16］
	180	20	2009	［71］
	200	0.16	2010	［72］
Rubidium	190	5	2010	［17］
	140-180	6-11	2012	［73］
	180	4	2014	［18］
	150	15	2018	［74］
	175	10	2019	［75］
Cesium	103	40	2008	［76］
Cesium	120	14	2014	［77］
Potassium & Rubidium	195	5	2014	［78］
Potassium & Rubidium	210	0.68	2019	［79］

Table 3. Types and specifications of high-performance CPT atomic clocks

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Table 3. Types and specifications of high-performance CPT atomic clocks

Technology

Stability

Year

Reference

Vertically polarized light configuration combined with Ramsey time-domain separation method

Short-term stability

$3 \times 10^{- 13} τ^{- 1 / 2}, τ \leq 100 s$

2013

［94］

Push-pull optical pumping combined with self-balancing Ramsey method

10000 s stability

2 \times 10^{- 15}

2018

［88，95］

Table 4. Performances and applications of SERF atomic spin gyroscope

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Table 4. Performances and applications of SERF atomic spin gyroscope

Year	Sensitivity	Application	Reference
2005	$2.9 \times 10^{- 5} ° / s / H z^{1 / 2}$	First realization of self-compensating SERF inertial measurement of nuclear spin	［96］
2009	$4 \times 10^{- 6} ° / s / H z^{1 / 2}$	Measuring neutron spin-spin interactions	［97］
2010	$4 \times 10^{- 6} ° / s / H z^{1 / 2}$	Highest index for verification of $\| {\tilde{b}}_{⊥}^{n} \|$ parameter of neutron charge conjugation-parity-time inversion symmetry breaking	［63］
2012	$7 \times 10^{- 5} ° / s / H z^{1 / 2}$	Domestic first realization of SERF atomic spin gyro	［98］

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Weiyi Wang, Zhen Chai. Interaction Between Laser and Thermal-Alkali Atomic Ensemble: Progress and Prospect[J]. Laser & Optoelectronics Progress, 2023, 60(15): 1500005

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