Simple Python tools for modelling few-level atom-light interactions

TL;DR

This paper introduces simple Python tools and tutorials for modeling near-resonant atom-light interactions, aimed at beginners to facilitate understanding, experimentation, and foundational learning in atomic physics simulations.

Contribution

It provides accessible Python code snippets and explanations for simulating atom-light interactions, serving as an educational resource for newcomers in the field.

Findings

Code snippets effectively illustrate the physics equations

Tools enable easy experimentation with system parameters

Foundation for building more complex models

Abstract

Understanding the interactions between atoms and light is at the heart of atomic physics. Being able to `experiment' with various system parameters, produce plots of the results and interpret these is very useful, especially for those new to the field. This tutorial aims to provide an introduction to the equations governing near-resonant atom-light interactions and present examples of setting up and solving these equations in Python. Emphasis is placed on clarity and understanding by showing code snippets alongside relevant equations, and as such it is suitable for those without an excellent working knowledge of Python or the underlying physics. Hopefully the methods presented here can form the foundations on which more complex models and simulations can be built. All functions presented here and example codes can be found on GitHub.