Probing an excited-state atomic transition using hyperfine quantum beat spectroscopy
Atomic Physics
2014-10-07 v2
Abstract
We describe a method to observe the dynamics of an excited-state transition in a room temperature atomic vapor using hyperfine quantum beats. Our experiment using cesium atoms consists of a pulsed excitation of the D2 transition, and continuous-wave driving of an excited-state transition from the 6P state to the 7S state. We observe quantum beats in the fluorescence from the 6P state which are modified by the driving of the excited-state transition. The Fourier spectrum of the beat signal yields evidence of Autler-Townes splitting of the 6P, F = 5 hyperfine level and Rabi oscillations on the excited-state transition. A detailed model provides qualitative agreement with the data, giving insight to the physical processes involved.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1408.3506,
title = {Probing an excited-state atomic transition using hyperfine quantum beat spectroscopy},
author = {Christopher G. Wade and Nikola Šibalić and James Keaveney and Charles S. Adams and Kevin J. Weatherill},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1408.3506},
year = {2014}
}