No description available.

A system suitable for studying interactions between ⁸⁷Rb Rydberg atoms and metal surfaces has been constructed. This thesis describes the design and construction of the apparatus, and some test results. Atoms in a vapor cell magneto-optical trap are transferred to a macroscopic Ioffe-Pritchard trap, where they will be RF evaporatively cooled and loaded into a magnetic microtrap (atom chip). Confinement of cold clouds at controllable distances (5–200 μm)} from a metal surface is possible. The effects of atom-surface interactions can be studied with Rydberg atom spectroscopy. Some functionality of the apparatus has been demonstrated. Approximately 1.5×10⁷ atoms were loaded into a mirror MOT, and about 6×10⁶ atoms were optically pumped to the |F=2, m_F=2> hyperfine ground state and confined in a macroscopic Ioffe-Pritchard trap. The temperature of the cloud in the trap was 42 ± 5 μK, and the 1/e lifetime is 1–1.5 s. Forced RF evaporation has been used to measure the magnetic field at the trap minimum, but RF evaporative cooling has not yet been demonstrated.

Laser-atom interactions create atomic coherence and large nonlinear atomic polarization. We investigate resonant laser-atom interactions to generate large nonlinearities and control them using magneto-optical fields. Coherent control of high-order susceptibilities and magneto-optical rotation are demonstrated. Experiments are supported by theoretical studies that effectively describe the observed phenomena. It is shown that a new coherent field, with polarization orthogonal to a weak signal field, can be parametrically generated via an all-resonant four-wave-mixing process. This is demonstrated in a double-ladder system having two intermediate states between a ground and an excited state. It is shown that the parametricgeneration process can be coherently controlled by coupling lasers and magnetic fields. It is theoretically established that the underlying physics is a resonant three-photon process with a wide domain of control parameters. Electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT), where absorption of a weak probe is suppressed via quantum interference, is demonstrated in a usual three-level ladder system. It is observed that in contrast with EIT in a usual ladder system, addition of a second channel helps to suppress the absorption of two weak probe fields in the double-ladder system. The resulting enhancement of transmission in two different channels is due to gain caused by three-photon processes. Coherent control is strongly limited by coherence lifetime, which is the inverse of the dephasing rate. A lambda-system, having two ground states coupled to a common excited state by lasers, can generate a new eigen (dark)-state that is transparent to incoming fields and hence suppresses fluorescence. However, ground-state dephasing perturbs the dark state. A new method for measuring the ground-state dephasing rate from fluorescence signals is proposed and a proof-of-principle experiment demonstrated. While two laser fields in a lambda-system are resonant with their respective transitions, the atomic polarizations are very sensitive to an applied magnetic field. This effect can be used for optical magnetometry. The degree of sensitivity of the magnetometer is determined by two competing parameters–atomic density and laser intensity. It is shown experimentally that the optimal sensitivity reaches saturation, which is contrary to the idea that sensitivity increases indefinitely with an increase in the above parameters.

In this thesis, the study of optical properties of magnetic fluid thin films is the main purpose. We measured the intensity of linear polarized laser beam, which passed through our sample, magnetic fluid thin film with external magnetism, to analyze the relationships between magnetic field intensity and magneto-birefringence and magneto-dichroism. According to our experimental results, we ascertain that both the magneto-birefringence and magneto-dichroism are existed. Besides, we found that the difference of index at magnetic fluid thin film changed with magnetic field intensity also. The phenomenon let us believe that magnetic fluid thin film is anisotropy. Moreover, we also applied the statement, which agreed by most physicists to explain what we found from our real measurements.

This work is comprised of the study of two magneto-optical phenomena: the Kerr effect and the Faraday effect. Neutron physics experiments often utilize polarized neutrons, and one method to generate or guide polarized neutrons involves the use of a system of magnetic super-mirrors. Experience shows that the magnetization of the super-mirror may decay with time; therefore, we implemented the surface magneto-optical Kerr effect (SMOKE) to study the temporal behavior of the magnetization of a magnetized remnant super-mirror sample, where a sensitivity of 0.1 mrad was obtained. Unique to our set-up was the method in which the various magnetization directions were probed. The sample was magnetized prior to insertion into the set-up, and a high precision rotational stage was used to manually rotate the sample to effectively generate a reversal of the magnetic field. Multiple samples from a larger super-mirror specimen were tested, in which no change in the magnetization was detected for one month after sample magnetization. Further studies could increase the sensitivity of the experiment, potentially rendering the method as an application for real-time magnetization monitoring. Polarized 3He nuclei are often used as an effective polarized neutron target at various laboratories, including Jefferson Lab, through the use of spin-exchange optical pumping in a glass cell constructed of GE-180. Utilizing the nuclear spin optical rotation to measure the Faraday effect of polarized 3He would develop a new procedure for polarization monitoring, establish a powerful tool to diagnose the wall properties and thicknesses of the cells used, and the determination of the frequency independent magnetic component of the polarizability would ultimately lead to the extraction of the spin polarizability of 3He. Furthermore, this study has the future implications of being the pioneer experiment for terrestrial dark matter studies. A new triple modulation technique was devised, where a sensitivity of 60 nrad was obtained, and the first ever extraction of the Verdet constant of GE-180 was recorded, an important factor in wall thicknesses and diagnostic investigations for Jefferson Lab. However, a measurement of the nuclear spin optical rotation of a polarized 3He target was not realized, as the measured polarization suggests a Faraday rotation just below the 60 nrad threshold. Nevertheless, the devised triple modulation method proves to be a very sensitive probe in Faraday effect studies, and additional examination of the polarized target for the production of a larger polarization, should yield a measurement of the nuclear spin optical rotation of polarized 3He.

No description available.

No description available.

Neste trabalho é apresentada a construção da montagem de um sistema experimental para resfriar átomos de estrôncio. A construção do sistema está focada no estudo do espalhamento coletivo em nuvens atômicas frias e ultrafrias por meio da teoria de Mie. O estrôncio é um elemento que conta com dois estágios de resfriamento, o primeiro utilizando a transição forte entre estados singletos ¹S₀-¹P ₁ de Γ = (2 π)32 MHz, e o segundo com uma transição fraca entre estados singleto e tripleto ¹S₀-³P₁ de Γ = (2 π)7,5 MHz. O objetivo deste trabalho é a construção do sistema para resfriar átomos de estrôncio utilizando a primeira transição. A construção do sistema se apresenta em várias partes, primeiro a construção do um forno como fonte de vapor de estrôncio, onde o estrôncio metálico é aquecido até uma temperatura T = 600°C. O forno conta com um sistema de microtubos encarregados de colimar o feixe atômico, estes microtubos tem um diâmetro interno D ≈ 180µm e um comprimento de 8mm. Depois da implementação do forno e do sistema de microtubos foi medido o perfil de velocidades transversais e a divergência do feixe atômico que sai do forno. A largura tem um valor wr = (2π)108 MHze a divergência do feixe de α ≈4,12. A segunda parte do sistema conta com a construção do desacelerador Zeeman, responsável por desacelerar os átomos do feixe atômico utilizando um feixe laser contrapropagante de λ=461 nm, circularmente polarizado e com uma dessintonização utilizada, após a caracterização do sistema, de Δ=(-2π)580MHz. Os átomos sentiram os efeitos da força de pressão radiativa dentro de um tubo de comprimento de 0,28m. Para compensar o efeito Doppler causado pelo movimento dos átomos foi utilizado um arranjo de bobinas em configuração spin flip para gerar o campo. A terceira e principal parte do sistema foi a construção da armadilha magnetoóptica (AMO). Onde os átomos que saem do desacelerador Zeeman são confinados e resfriados pela combinação de seis feixes contrapropagantes, dos quais três são retrorefletidos utilizando a transição Γ=(2π)32MHz. A dessintonia dos feixes após da caracterização do sistema foi de Δ=(-2π)39MHz. Depois da construção do sistema foi feita a primeira caracterição da armadilha magneto-óptica de átomos de estrôncio 88 em nosso grupo, onde obtivemos a temperatura dos átomos na armadilha para o eixo vertical da expansão foi de Tv=4.7mK e para o eixo horizontal de TH=4mK. Também foi medido o tempo de carga dos átomos na armadilha tcarga=0.15s como bombeamento óptico de estado ³P₂-³D₂. O tempo de vida foi de 0.3s e 0.03s com e sem bombeamento óptico, respectivamente. / This work presents the construction of the assembly of an experimental system for cooling strontium atoms. The construction of the system is focused on the collective scattering in atomic cold cloud and ultra cold using the Mie theory. The strontium is an element that permits two stage of cooling, the first using the strong transition between singlet states ¹S₀-¹P₁ of Γ=(2π) 32 MHz, and a second stages is the weak transition between singlet and triplet states ¹S₀-³P₁ de Γ=(2π) 7.5MHz. The objective of this work is building the system for cooling strontium atoms using the first transition. The construction of the system is presented in several parts. First is described the construction of oven as vapor source strontium, where the strontium metal is heated to Temperature Range T = 600°C. The oven has a microtubule system responsible for collimating the atomic beam, these microtubules has an internal diameter of D ≈ 180µm and a length of 8mm. After implementation of the oven system and the microtubes were measured transverse velocity profile and the divergence of the atomic beam that leaves the oven, the width value was f wr=(2π)108MHzand beam divergence value was α ≈ 4,12. The second part of the system relies on the construction of the Zeeman slower responsible for decelerating the atoms of the atomic beam using a laser beam antipropagating of λ = 461 nm nm with a circularly polarized , the detuning used after of the characterization of the system was Δ = (2π)580 MHz. Atoms felt the effects of pressure force radiative within a tube length of 0.28m to compensate the Doppler shift due to motion a of atoms used an arrangement of coils in configuration \"spin flip\" to generate the magnetic field to compensate this effect. The third and main part of the system was the construction of magneto-optical trap (MOT), the atoms coming out of the Zeeman decelerator are confined and cooled by a combination of six counterpropagating beams, three of which are retro reflected using the transition Γ = (2π)32MHz, the detuning of the beam after the characterization of the system was Δ = (-2π) 39 MHz and the opposite polarization for each pair of beam in the same direction. After the construction of the system was made the first magneto-optical trap of strontium atoms 88, the temperature of the trap was atoms to the vertical he expansion was Tv = 4.7mK and the horizontal axis TH = 4 mK 4, also was measured loading time of the atoms in the trap tcharge = 0.15s as optical pumping state ³P₂- ³D₂. The lifetime with and without optical pumping was tlife = 0.3s and tlife = 0.03s respectively.

Neste trabalho demonstramos o confinamento de átomos de sódio usando a armadilha magneto-óptica, onde os átomos foram capturados diretamente a partir da distribuição inicial do vapor atômico a uma temperatura ambiente, contido em uma célula fechada. Observamos além da nuvem de átomos aprisionados, estruturas circulares em forma de anek, que surgem devido ao desalinhamento introduzido nos feixes de aprisionamento. Estudamos o comportamento do raio do anel em função de vários parâmetros utilizados na armadilha magneto-óptica como por exemplo: gradiente de campo magnético, intensidade do laser, dessintonia e desalinhamento. Os experimentos foram realizados no regime de baixa densidade (N<10s) onde o raio do anel é independente do número de átomos aprisionados. Assim, os resultados obtidos podem ser explicados utilizando um modelo simples que leva em conta a força de vórtice dependente da coordenada radial (ou macroscópica) e as forças usuais presentes na armadilha magneto-óptica / In this work we demonstrate the confinement of neutral sodium atoms using the magneto-optical trap, where the atoms were captured directly from the low velocity tail of the room-temperature atomic vapor contained in the closed vacuum cell. We observed besides the cloud shaped, circular structures like a ring of trapped atoms that apeears when we introduce a misalignment among the trapping beams. We studied the behavior of ring radius with respect to several trapping parameters as: magnetic-field gradient, laser intensity, detuning, and misalignment. The experiments were performed in the low density regime (N<10s), so the ring radius is independent of the number of trapped atoms. Hence, the results obtained can be explained using a simple model that takes into account a radial coordinate dependent (or macroscopic) vortex force and the usual magneto-optical trap forces

Neste trabalho estudamos a absorção cooperativa de dois fótons em processos de colisão entre átomos frios de sódio aprisionados. Efeitos não-lineares exigem amostras de alta densidade para ser observados. Redesenhamos nosso sistema experimental para conseguir amostras de 1012 átomos/cm3. As principais alterações foram a construção de um desacelerador Zeeman em configuração spin-flip, a implementação de bombeamento diferencial entre o forno e a câmara principal, assim como redesenhar o forno. A fim de compreender e melhorar os processos de medição utilizamos a técnica de fotoionização nos estados 32P1/2 e 32P3/2. Com esses dados conseguimos calcular a seção transversal de ionização para cada um desses estados, que está de acordo com valores reportados na literatura. Estes resultados mostram que o novo desenho do sistema permite um grande ponto de partida para a medição da absorção de dois fótons. Uma tentativa de medir a absorção de dois fótons foi feita. Um pequeno aumento no número de íons produzidos por unidade de tempo foi observada em uma região deslocada para o vermelho de cerca de 4,5 GHz de onde inicialmente se esperava ocorrer a transição. Isto motiva a aprofundar o estudo da absorção de dois fótons, já que provavelmente essa medida seja um indício da ocorrência desse fenômeno. Assim, tanto a medição da seção de choque dos estados 32P1/2 e 32P3/2 e a tentativa de medir a absorção de dois fótons, fornecem uma base sólida para conhecer qual é a melhor maneira de obter resultados mais decisivos no que diz respeito à absorção cooperativa de dois fótons, e as vantagens do nosso sistema em futuros experimentos. / In this work we study the cooperative two-photon absorption in collisional processes between cold trapped sodium atoms. Nonlinear effects require high density samples to be observed. We redesign our experimental system to achieve samples up to 1012 atoms/ cm3 .The key changes were building a spin-flip Zeeman slower, implementing differential pumping between the oven and the chamber and changing the oven´s design. In order to understand and improve the measurement processes we did photoionization from the states 32P1/2 e 32P3/2. With this data we could calculate the ionization cross section for each of these states, which is in agreement with values reported in the literature. These results show that the new design of the system allows a great starting point for measuring of two-photon absorption. An attempt to measure the absorption of two-photon was made. A small increase in the number of ions produced per unit time was observed in a region shifted to the red of about 4.5 GHz from where we initially expected the transition to occur. This probably indicates two-photon absorption. Thus, both the measurement of cross section of states and the attempt to measure the absorption of two photons, provide a solid foundation for understanding what is the best way to obtain more decisive results with regard to cooperative absorption, and the advantages of performance of our system in future experiments.