Modulation transfer spectroscopy of the D1 transition of potassium: theory and experiment

Innes, A D; Majumder, P; Noh, H R; Cornish, S L

Abstract

We report on a study of modulation transfer spectroscopy of the 4S1/2 → 4P1/2 (D1) transition of naturally abundant potassium in a room-temperature vapour cell. This transition is critical for laser cooling and optical pumping of potassium and our study is therefore motivated by the need for robust laser frequency stabilisation. Despite the absence of a closed transition, the small ground-state hyperfine splitting in potassium results in strong crossover features in the D1 modulation transfer spectrum. To emphasise this we compare the D1 and D2 spectra of potassium with those of rubidium. Further, we compare our experimental results with a detailed theoretical simulation, examining different pump–probe polarisation configurations to identify the optimal signals for laser frequency stabilisation. We find good agreement between the experiment and the theory, especially for the lin ∥ lin polarisation configuration.

Citation

Innes, A. D., Majumder, P., Noh, H. R., & Cornish, S. L. (2024). Modulation transfer spectroscopy of the D1 transition of potassium: theory and experiment. Journal of Physics B: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics, 57(7), Article 075401. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6455/ad31af

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 8, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Mar 20, 2024
• Publication Date: Apr 12, 2024
• Deposit Date: Apr 17, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 17, 2024
• Journal: Journal of Physics B: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics
• Print ISSN: 0953-4075
• Electronic ISSN: 1361-6455
• Publisher: IOP Publishing
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 57
• Issue: 7
• Article Number: 075401
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6455/ad31af
• Keywords: Condensed Matter Physics; Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2385569