Quadrupole absorption rate for atoms in circularly-polarized optical vortices

TL;DR

This paper investigates how circularly-polarized optical vortices transfer angular momentum to atoms via quadrupole transitions, focusing on calcium ions and the influence of beam polarization and topological charge.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of quadrupole transition rates induced by optical vortices, highlighting the role of polarization and topological charge in angular momentum transfer.

Findings

Calculated transfer rates for Ca+ ion quadrupole transition.

Demonstrated dependence of transfer on vortex polarization and topological charge.

Clarified selection rules for quadrupole interactions with twisted light.

Abstract

Twisted light beams, or optical vortices, have been used to drive the circular motion of microscopic particles in optical tweezers and have been shown to generate vortices in quantum gases. Recent studies have established that electric quadrupole interactions can mediate an orbital angular momentum exchange between twisted light and the electronic degrees of freedom of atoms. Here we consider a quadrupole atomic transition mediated by a circularly-polarized optical vortex. We evaluate the transfer rate of the optical angular momentum to a $Ca^+$ ion involving the $4^2S_{1/2}\rightarrow 3^2D_{5/2}$ quadrupole transition and explain how the polarization state and the topological charge of the vortex beam determine the selection rules.