Nonlinear effects due to optical pumping of sodium vapor by single-pass laser beams

Author

Holzner, R. ; Dangel, S.

Author_Institution

Phys. Inst., Zurich Univ., Switzerland

fYear

1998

fDate

10-14 Aug 1998

Firstpage

282

Lastpage

284

Abstract

Circularly polarized laser beams propagating through sodium vapor and tuned to the buffer gas broadened atomic D1 transition can optically pump sodium atoms into a nonabsorbing groundstate. The corresponding groundstate populations depend on the intensity distribution, the polarization and the magnetic fields. They lead to refractive index gradients along as well as transverse to the laser beam propagation direction and therefore modify the light path giving rise to a number of nonlinear spatiotemporal intensity and polarization pattern creating processes

Keywords

laser beams; light polarisation; nonlinear optics; optical pumping; sodium; Na; buffer gas broadened atomic D1 transition; circularly polarized laser beams; groundstate populations; intensity distribution; laser beam propagation direction; light path; magnetic fields; nonabsorbing groundstate; nonlinear effects; nonlinear spatiotemporal intensity; optical pumping; optically pump; polarization fields; polarization pattern creating processes; single-pass laser beams; sodium vapor; Atom optics; Gas lasers; Laser beams; Laser excitation; Laser transitions; Laser tuning; Optical polarization; Optical propagation; Optical pumping; Pump lasers;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Nonlinear Optics '98: Materials, Fundamentals and Applications Topical Meeting

Conference_Location

Kauai, HI

Print_ISBN

0-7803-4950-4

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/NLO.1998.710284

Filename

710284