Laser optical pumping of sodium and lithium atom beams

Thesis/Dissertation · Sat Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1983

OSTI ID:6262763

Cusma, J T

The method of optical pumping with a continuous wave dye laser has been used to produce beams of polarized /sup 23/Na atoms and polarized /sup 6/Li atoms. Optical pumping of a /sup 23/Na atom beam using either a multimode dye laser or a single frequency dye laser with a double passed acousto-optic modulator results in electron spin polarizations of 0.70-0.90 and nuclear spin polarizations of 0.75-0.90. Optical pumping of a /sup 6/Li atom beam using a single frequency dye laser either with an acousto-optic modulator or with Doppler shift pumping results in electron spin polarizations of 0.77-0.95 and nuclear spin polarizations greater than 0.90. The polarization of the atom beam is measured using either the laser induced fluorescence in an intermediate magnetic field or a 6-pole magnet to determine the occupation probabilities of the ground hyperfine sublevels following optical pumping. The results of the laser optical pumping experiments agree with the results of a rate equation analysis of the optical pumping process which predicts that nearly all atoms are transferred into a single sublevel for our values of laser intensity and interaction time. The use of laser optical pumping in a polarized ion source for nuclear scattering experiments is discussed. The laser optical pumping method provides a means of constructing an intense source of polarized Li and Na ions.

• Research Organization: Wisconsin Univ., Madison (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6262763
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640301* -- Atomic
Molecular & Chemical Physics-- Beams & their Reactions
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ALKALI METALS
ATOMIC BEAMS
BEAM PRODUCTION
BEAMS
CHARGED PARTICLES
DYE LASERS
ELEMENTS
ION SOURCES
IONS
LASERS
LIQUID LASERS
LITHIUM
LITHIUM IONS
METALS
OPTICAL PUMPING
POLARIZATION
PUMPING
SODIUM
SODIUM IONS