Isotope Selective Optical Pumping in a Dense Thallium Atomic Beam

Abstract

Isotope selective optical pumping has been investigated in a dense thallium atomic beam. The ground state thallium atoms are optically pumped to metastable atoms by using a frequency-doubled single-mode continuous Ti:Sapphire laser. The relative population of the metastable atoms of Tl and Tl has been obtained by measuring the absorption strength of the metastable atoms after optical pumping. The isotope selectivity of the optical pumping technique strongly depends on the power broadening effect. In addition, collisional energy transfer, such as inter-atomic collisions, and the hyperfine state changing collision is discussed.