Polarized alkali vapor with minute-long transverse spin-relaxation time

TL;DR

This paper reports a significant advancement in alkali vapor cell technology, achieving over 60 seconds of atomic coherence lifetime using novel alkene coatings, which could greatly enhance precision measurement devices.

Contribution

The study introduces a new alkene coating that vastly extends atomic coherence times in vapor cells, surpassing previous paraffin coatings by two orders of magnitude.

Findings

Atomic coherence lifetime exceeds 60 seconds.

Alkene coatings outperform paraffin in anti-relaxation properties.

Potential applications in atomic clocks and quantum sensors.

Abstract

We demonstrate lifetimes of atomic populations and coherences in excess of 60 seconds in alkali vapor cells with inner walls coated with an alkene material. This represents two orders of magnitude improvement over the best paraffin coatings. Such anti-relaxation properties will likely lead to substantial improvements in atomic clocks, magnetometers, quantum memory, and enable sensitive studies of collisional effects and precision measurements of fundamental symmetries.