Saturation spectroscopy with laser optical pumping in atomic barium

Abstract

The magnitude and sign of laser saturation resonances induced in atomic transitions with level degeneracy can be dramatically altered by the presence of optical pumping. This paper presents a detailed theoretical treatment of optical-pumping Lamb dips and crossover resonances, and their experimental observation in the 553-nm barium resonance transition. The physical principles underlying the laser optical-pumping saturation effect are also discussed.