Abstract

We report an unusual phenomenon, peculiar sign reversals of the ground-state magnetic resonances and of the zero-dip resonance (Zeeman resonance at zero field) of optically pumped, alkali-metal vapors. These anomalies occur when a weak circularly polarized $D1$ laser light is tuned to pump atoms predominantly from the lower ground-state hyperfine multiplet. One can understand the signal reversals in a simple, semiquantitative way with reference to the spin-temperature distribution. Quantitative computer simulations are in excellent agreement with observations.

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