Spin Polarization of an Ensemble of Alkali Atoms with Zero Average Magnetization

Abstract

The Landé factors of hyperfine sublevels belonging to the same spectral term differ from each other. This leads to the appearance of an effective gyromagnetic ratio for an atomic ensemble, which can be defined as the ratio of the average magnetic moment to the average angular momentum. Characteristically, this quantity is not a constant, but rather depends on the populations of the hyperfine sublevels. States of an ensemble of atoms occupying their ground level in which the effective gyromagnetic ratio is zero are of much interest. Here, one of such states is considered by the example of alkali metal ⁸⁷Rb. The main idea is to suggest a method for preparing states with zero effective gyromagnetic ratio by means of two-frequency pumping of a saturated alkali-metal vapor in a cell containing a buffer gas. It is noteworthy that, according to calculations, correlation between the two fields is not required for attaining this goal.