Semiclassical calculation of the power saturation of the Kerr effect in Rb vapor

Abstract

The Kerr effect in atomic vapor may be regarded as the power saturation of the susceptibility. Hence the saturable Kerr effect is intimately tied to the standard Kerr effect. Here, we calculate the saturable Kerr effect without free parameters using a two-level system and find good agreement with experimental results. Our approach permits a direct comparison of theory to experiment without an extrapolation to low power as required by previous approaches. An experimentally observed asymmetry between red and blue detuning led us to consider a model with one ground state and three excited states. Such an asymmetry cannot be described by a two-state model. The model predicts about 25% of the observed asymmetry.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Nov 16, 2023
Source ID
10.1364/josab.503903

Entities

People

  • Z.Z. Du
  • Zachary H Levine

Organizations

  • Air Force Research Laboratory
  • National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • State University of New York

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Quantum spin resonance or Electron Paramagnetic Resonance spectroscopy.
  • Systems Analysis and Design