Depolarization of the near-resonant light scattered by atomic sodium

Abstract

The sodium atom in its ground ²S state possesses antisymmetric components of the scattering tensor that lead to depolarization of the light scattered at very low densities. Depolarized scattering has been observed in the vicinity of the D₁ and D₂ resonance lines by using a dye laser. The depolarization ratio ρ is approximately unity near the D₁ line, as predicted by Placzek. Near the D₂ line, ρ is somewhat-larger than the theoretical 0.25.