Scalar electrodynamics: Difference between revisions
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[[Image:Long arc lamp.svg|thumb|Optical pumping of a laser rod (bottom) with an [[arc lamp]] (top). Red: hot. Blue: cold. Green: light. Non-green arrows: water flow. Solid colors: metal. Light colors: [[fused quartz]]. Refs: [http://www.sintecoptronics.com/lamp4462.gif], [http://www.newsourcetechnology.com/laser=lamp.htm],[http://www.sintecoptronics.com/lamp5028.gif] ]] | |||
'''Optical pumping''' is a process in which [[light]] is used to raise (or "pump") [[electron]]s from a lower [[energy level]] in an [[atom]] or [[molecule]] to a higher one. It is commonly used in [[laser construction]], to [[laser pumping|pump]] the [[active laser medium]] so as to achieve [[population inversion]]. The technique was developed by 1966 [[Nobel Prize in Physics|Nobel Prize]] winner [[Alfred Kastler]] in the early 1950s.<ref>{{cite book |last=Taylor |first=Nick |title=LASER: The inventor, the Nobel laureate, and the thirty-year patent war |year=2000 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York |isbn=0-684-83515-0 }} Page 56.</ref> | |||
Optical pumping is also used to cyclically pump electrons bound within an atom or molecule to a well-defined [[quantum state]]. For the simplest case of [[coherence (physics)|coherent]] two-level optical pumping of an atomic species containing a single [[Electron shell|outer-shell]] electron, this means that the electron is coherently pumped to a single [[Hyperfine structure|hyperfine sublevel]] (labeled <math>m_F\!</math>), which is defined by the [[Polarization (waves)|polarization]] of the pump [[laser]] along with the quantum [[selection rules]]. Upon optical pumping, the atom is said to be ''oriented'' in a particular <math>m_F\!</math> sublevel, however due to the cyclic nature of optical pumping the bound electron will actually be undergoing repeated [[Excited state|excitation and decay]] between upper and lower state sublevels. The [[frequency]] and polarization of the pump laser determines which <math>m_F\!</math> sublevel the atom is oriented in. | |||
In practice, completely coherent optical pumping may not occur due to power-broadening of the [[linewidth]] of a transition and undesirable effects such as hyperfine structure trapping and [[radiation trapping]]. Therefore the orientation of the atom depends more generally on the frequency, intensity, polarization, spectral bandwidth of the laser as well as the linewidth and transition probability of the absorbing transition.<ref name="Demtroder">{{cite book | last=Demtroder | first=W. | title=Laser Spectroscopy: Basic Concepts and Instrumentation | publisher=Springer | location=Berlin | year=1998 }}</ref> | |||
An optical pumping experiment is commonly found in physics undergraduate laboratories, using [[rubidium]] gas isotopes and displaying the ability of [[radiofrequency]] (MHz) [[electromagnetic radiation]] to effectively pump and unpump these [[isotope]]s. | |||
==See also== | |||
*[[Laser pumping]] | |||
*[[Rabi cycle]] | |||
*[[Atomic coherence]] | |||
==References== | |||
<references/> | |||
[[Category:Quantum optics]] | |||
Revision as of 19:23, 3 January 2013
Optical pumping is a process in which light is used to raise (or "pump") electrons from a lower energy level in an atom or molecule to a higher one. It is commonly used in laser construction, to pump the active laser medium so as to achieve population inversion. The technique was developed by 1966 Nobel Prize winner Alfred Kastler in the early 1950s.[1]
Optical pumping is also used to cyclically pump electrons bound within an atom or molecule to a well-defined quantum state. For the simplest case of coherent two-level optical pumping of an atomic species containing a single outer-shell electron, this means that the electron is coherently pumped to a single hyperfine sublevel (labeled ), which is defined by the polarization of the pump laser along with the quantum selection rules. Upon optical pumping, the atom is said to be oriented in a particular sublevel, however due to the cyclic nature of optical pumping the bound electron will actually be undergoing repeated excitation and decay between upper and lower state sublevels. The frequency and polarization of the pump laser determines which sublevel the atom is oriented in.
![[1]](http://www.sintecoptronics.com/lamp4462.gif){kind=link}
![[3]](http://www.sintecoptronics.com/lamp5028.gif){kind=link}
In practice, completely coherent optical pumping may not occur due to power-broadening of the linewidth of a transition and undesirable effects such as hyperfine structure trapping and radiation trapping. Therefore the orientation of the atom depends more generally on the frequency, intensity, polarization, spectral bandwidth of the laser as well as the linewidth and transition probability of the absorbing transition.[2]
An optical pumping experiment is commonly found in physics undergraduate laboratories, using rubidium gas isotopes and displaying the ability of radiofrequency (MHz) electromagnetic radiation to effectively pump and unpump these isotopes.
See also
References
- ↑ 20 year-old Real Estate Agent Rusty from Saint-Paul, has hobbies and interests which includes monopoly, property developers in singapore and poker. Will soon undertake a contiki trip that may include going to the Lower Valley of the Omo.
My blog: http://www.primaboinca.com/view_profile.php?userid=5889534 Page 56. - ↑ 20 year-old Real Estate Agent Rusty from Saint-Paul, has hobbies and interests which includes monopoly, property developers in singapore and poker. Will soon undertake a contiki trip that may include going to the Lower Valley of the Omo.
My blog: http://www.primaboinca.com/view_profile.php?userid=5889534