Magnetic coherence effects in the spectroscopy of transitions between energy levels with total angular momenta J = 1/2 and J = 1 using unidirectional waves

Abstract

The physical processes that form the spectra of saturated absorption resonances at atomic transitions between energy levels with angular momenta J = 1/2 and J = 1 in the field of two unidirectional linearly polarised laser waves are studied analytically and numerically. It is shown that the specific features of the resonance spectra are formed in the Λ-schemes of transitions and manifest themselves in the form of narrow coherent structures – dips due to the magnetic coherence (optical orientation) of the transition levels induced by the optical fields. In this case, the energy levels of the lower state make the main contribution, and the contribution of the transfer of magnetic coherence from the sublevels of the upper state to the lower ones in the resonance amplitude manifests itself as an additive. Conditions are found under which the nonlinear resonance is exclusively coherent. The effect of the saturating wave field on the shape of coherent resonance structures is studied.