Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 160802 (2004) [4 pages]Push-Pull Optical Pumping of Pure Superposition StatesReceived 2 June 2004; published 13 October 2004 A new optical pumping method, “push-pull pumping,” can produce very nearly pure, coherent superposition states between the initial and the final sublevels of the important field-independent 0-0 clock resonance of alkali-metal atoms. The key requirement for push-pull pumping is the use of D1 resonant light which alternates between left and right circular polarization at the Bohr frequency of the state. The new pumping method works for a wide range of conditions, including atomic beams with almost no collisions, and atoms in buffer gases with pressures of many atmospheres. © 2004 The American Physical Society URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.93.160802
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.93.160802
PACS:
06.30.Ft, 32.10.Fn, 33.20.Bx
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