Progress towards fundamental symmetry tests with nonlinear optical rotation

Abstract

Magneto-optical (Faraday) rotation is a process in which the plane of light polarization rotates as light propagates through a medium along the direction of a magnetic field. In atomic vapors where ground state atomic polarization relaxes very slowly (relaxation rates ≳1 Hz), there arise ultranarrow, light-power-dependent (nonlinear) features in the magnetic field dependence of Faraday rotation. The shot-noise-limited sensitivity of a magnetometer based on nonlinear Faraday rotation can exceed 10−11 G/Hz, corresponding to a sensitivity of ∼10−6 Hz/Hz to Zeeman sublevel shifts. Here we discuss recent progress in magnetometry based on nonlinear optical rotation and consider the application of these methods to searches for fundamental-symmetry-violating interactions.