Analysis of two-pathway coherent control for precision measurement of weak optical transitions

TL;DR

This paper introduces a two-pathway optical coherent control technique for highly sensitive and precise measurement of forbidden atomic transitions, reducing systematic errors in experiments such as atomic cesium.

Contribution

It demonstrates the application of ($,$) coherent control to measure weak magnetic dipole and parity nonconserving amplitudes with improved accuracy.

Findings

Reduced systematic errors in measurements

Application to atomic cesium transitions

Potential for improved laboratory precision

Abstract

We present a new technique based on two-pathway optical coherent control for the sensitive detection and precise measurement of highly-forbidden transitions in atomic systems. Specifically, we show that ($\omega$, 2$\omega$) coherent control can be applied to the measurement of the magnetic dipole and electroweak parity nonconserving amplitudes in atomic cesium, with the principal advantage of reduced systematic errors related to field reversals often encountered in previous measurements of these effects. We present a complete analysis in one specific geometry, and discuss prospects for improved laboratory determinations of these weak transition amplitudes.