CPT transients induced by rapid changes in laser polarization: validation of a semi-empirical model

Abstract

In ultraminiature atomic physics (UAP), where the goal is to perform low-power, ‘chip-scale’ precision spectroscopy, stochastic-field/atom interactions can play a primary role in defining the limits of sensitivity. Unfortunately, the transient responses of a quantum system to random changes in the amplitude, phase or polarization of a resonant field are not well understood, forming the basis of what has come to be known as the stochastic-field/atom interaction problem. As the first step in understanding the more complicated stochastic problem, the present work considers the response of a coherent-population-trapping (CPT) signal to a sudden, step-function change in laser polarization. We find that the transient behaviour depends on both the redistribution of atomic population among the atom's Zeeman sublevels and the regeneration of atomic coherence between these sublevels. Despite the complicated nature of the dynamics, we develop and experimentally validate a semi-empirical, reasonably intuitive model of the CPT transient and demonstrate that in the ‘typical’ CPT signal the polarization-induced transients are dominated by redistribution of atomic population among the Zeeman sublevels. Further, the amplitudes of the polarization-induced transients are relatively large and could potentially ‘swamp’ the CPT signals of interest for UAP.