Coherent Control of spin-orbit precession with shaped laser pulses

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how shaped laser pulses can precisely control spin-orbit precession in Rubidium atoms, enabling manipulation of quantum states for potential applications in quantum information processing.

Contribution

It introduces a method to control spin-orbit dynamics in atoms using spectral phase shaping of laser pulses, a novel approach in quantum control.

Findings

Shaped laser pulses can switch the wave packet between bright and dark states.

Spectral phase shaping enables selective control of spin and orbital angular momentum precession.

The technique offers a new way to manipulate quantum states in atomic systems.

Abstract

Spin precession in Rubidium atoms is investigated through a pump-probe technique. The excited wave packet corresponds to a precession of spin and orbital angular momentum around the total angular momentum. We show that using shaped laser pulses allows us to control this dynamics. With a Fourier transform limited pulse, the wave packet is initially prepared in the bright state (coupled to the initial state) whereas a pulse presenting a $\pi $ step in the spectral phase prepares the wave packet in the dark state (uncoupled to the initial state).