Atomic coherence effects within the sodium D1 manifold. II. Coherent optical pumping

Abstract

For pt. I see ibid. p. 231, 1994. We consider optical pumping in the multilevel sodium D1 manifold by several coherent light fields. Coherence between atomic states is taken into account by solving the complete density matrix equations. The manifestation of population trapping and the variation of transmitted light intensity are predicted numerically and verified experimentally for the sodium D1 line. The influence of relaxation and Doppler broadening is elucidated. The interaction of a strong and a weak field is shown to create electromagnetically induced transparency.