Nonlinear magneto-optical rotation in rubidium vapor excited with blue light

Abstract

We present experimental and numerical studies of nonlinear magneto-optical rotation (NMOR) in rubidium vapor excited with resonant light tuned to the $5{\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}}^{2}{S}_{1/2}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}6{\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}}^{2}{P}_{1/2}$ absorption line (421 nm). Contrary to the experiments performed to date on the strong ${D}_{1}$ or ${D}_{2}$ lines, in this case, the spontaneous decay of the excited state $6{\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}}^{2}{P}_{1/2}$ may occur via multiple intermediate states, affecting the dynamics, magnitude, and other characteristics of NMOR. Comparing the experimental results with the results of modeling based on Auzinsh et al. [Phys. Rev. A 80, 053406 (2009)], we demonstrate that despite the complexity of the structure, NMOR can be adequately described with a model, where only a single excited-state relaxation rate is used.