Related papers: Reducing number fluctuations in an ultracold atomi…
We have used nondestructive laser probing to follow the central density evolution of a trapped atomic cloud during forced evaporative cooling. This was achieved in a heterodyne dispersive detection scheme. We propose to use this as a…
We describe an easily implementable method for non-destructive measurements of ultracold atomic clouds based on dark field imaging of spatially resolved Faraday rotation. The signal-to-noise ratio is analyzed theoretically and, in the…
We demonstrate that a dispersive imaging technique based on the Faraday effect can measure the atom number in a large, ultracold atom cloud with a precision below the atom shot noise level. The minimally destructive character of the…
By Faraday-rotation fluctuation spectroscopy one measures the spin noise via Faraday-induced fluctuations of the polarization plane of a laser transmitting the sample. In the fist part of this paper, we present a theoretical model of recent…
We prepare number stabilized ultracold clouds through the real-time analysis of non-destructive images and the application of feedback. In our experiments, the atom number ${N\sim10^6}$ is determined by high precision Faraday imaging with…
We report on a combined experimental and theoretical study of polarization self-rotation in an ultracold atomic sample. In the experiments, a probe laser is tuned in the spectral vicinity of the D1 line to observe polarization self-rotation…
A sensitive polarization modulation technique uses photoelastic modulation and hetrodyne detection to simultaneously measure the Faraday rotation and induced ellipticity in light transmitted by semiconducting and metallic samples. The…
We report non-invasive detection of spin coherence in a collection of Raman-driven cold atoms using dispersive Faraday rotation fluctuation measurements, which opens up new possibilities of probing spin correlations in quantum gases and…
Fluctuations in light absorption by atoms are observed by applying laser light on rubidium atoms and measuring the transmitted light intensity fluctuations. These fluctuations are spontaneous noise, which are generic to photon atom…
Enhanced nonlinear optical response of a coherent atomic medium is the basis for many atomic sensors, and their performance is ultimately limited by the quantum fluctuations of the optical read-out. Here we demonstrate that off-resonant…
We report a thorough investigation into the absorptive and dispersive properties of hot caesium vapour, culminating in the development of a simple analytical model for off-resonant Faraday rotation. The model, applicable to all hot alkali…
A weak continuous quantum measurement of an atomic spin ensemble can be implemented via Faraday rotation of an off-resonance probe beam, and may be used to create and probe nonclassical spin states and dynamics. We show that the probe light…
Faraday rotation of a laser field induced by a single atom is demonstrated by tightly focussing a linearly polarized laser beam onto a laser-cooled ion held in a harmonic Paul trap. The polarization rotation signal is further used to…
When a gas of ultracold atoms is suddenly illuminated by light that is nearly resonant with an atomic transition, the atoms cannot respond instantaneously. This non-instantaneous response means the gas is initially more transparent to the…
The ability to control the speed and polarisation of light pulses will allow for faster data flow in optical networks of the future. Optical delay and switching have been achieved using slow-light techniques in various media, including…
We investigate experimentally the number statistics of a mesoscopic ensemble of cold atoms in a microscopic dipole trap loaded from a magneto-optical trap, and find that the atom number fluctuations are reduced with respect to a Poisson…
Paramagnetic Faraday rotation is a powerful technique for atom sensing widely used in quantum non-demolition measurements, fundamental symmetry tests, and other precision measurements. We demonstrate the use of a multi-pass optical cell for…
We experimentally studied the Faraday rotation of resonant light in an optically-thick cloud of laser-cooled rubidium atoms. Measurements yield a large Verdet constant in the range of 200 000 degrees/T/mm and a maximal polarization rotation…
We present a simple technique for stabilization of a laser frequency off resonance using the Faraday effect in a heated vapor cell with an applied magnetic field. In particular we demonstrate stabilization of a 780 nm laser detuned up to 14…
Fluctuations are a key property of both classical and quantum systems. While the fluctuations are well understood for many quantum systems at zero temperature, the case of an interacting quantum system at finite temperature still poses…