Radiation trapping in rubidium optical pumping at low buffer-gas pressures

Authors

• Mark A. Rosenberry, Siena CollegeFollow
• J. P. Reyes, Siena College, Loudonville, New York
• D. Tupa, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico
• Timothy J. Gay, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2-1-2007

Comments

Published in PHYSICAL REVIEW A 75, 023401 (2007). Copyright ©2007 The American Physical Society. Used by permission.

Abstract

We have made a systematic study of rubidium optical pumping in a simple cylindrical cell geometry with a high-power 10 W diode laser array, low magnetic fields, and buffer-gas pressures of less than 50 torr. We have determined rubidium polarizations experimentally for H₂, N₂, He, and Ar buffer gases, with Rb number densities from 10¹² to 10¹³ cm^-3. Comparison to a relatively simple optical pumping model allows us to extract useful information about radiation trapping and quenching effects.