Polarization Self-rotation in Ultracold Atomic Rb

TL;DR

This paper investigates polarization self-rotation in ultracold Rb atoms through combined experimental and theoretical methods, revealing effects of magnetic fields and interactions with the Faraday effect.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed experimental and theoretical analysis of polarization self-rotation in ultracold atomic samples near the D1 line.

Findings

Good agreement between experiment and theory

Residual magnetic field causes asymmetries in rotation

Polarization self-rotation interacts with the Faraday effect

Abstract

We report on a combined experimental and theoretical study of polarization self-rotation in an ultracold atomic sample. In the experiments, a probe laser is tuned in the spectral vicinity of the D1 line to observe polarization self-rotation in a sample of ultracold Rb prepared in a magneto-optical trap. Systematic measurements of the rotation angle of the light-polarization ellipse as a function of laser intensity, initial ellipticity and detuning are made. The observations, in good agreement with theoretical simulations, are indicative of the presence of a residual static magnetic field, resulting in measured asymmetries in the rotation angle for right and left ellipticities. In this paper we present our detailed experimental results and analysis of the combined influences of polarization self-rotation and the Faraday effect.