Rabi oscillations in the optical pumping of a metastable neon beam with a cw dye laser.

Abstract

We report the measurement of Rabi oscillations in the optical pumping of a beam of metastable neon atoms in a three-level system with a cw dye laser. The laser beam is focused on the atomic beam, resulting in an interaction time with the laser beam of the order of the spontaneous lifetime of the induced transition. The Rabi oscillations are measured by a velocity-resolved analysis of the optically pumped metastable atoms. Adiabatic following is observed when the atoms cross the laser beam outside the waist, induced by the Doppler shifts due to the curvature of the wave fronts.