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Single-Photon Atomic Cooling - Raizen Lab - The University of ...

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2.5.2.1 Optical Bloch Equations<br />

<strong>The</strong> optical Bloch equations are used to describe an ensemble <strong>of</strong> two-<br />

level atoms interacting with a monochromatic optical field [69] as shown in<br />

Fig. 2.6. To describe the situation in the figure we must find the expectation<br />

ω <br />

<br />

<br />

Figure 2.6: Ensemble <strong>of</strong> N two-level atoms per unit volume interacting with a<br />

monochromatic optical field.<br />

value<br />

<br />

〈µ(t)〉 =<br />

<br />

<br />

Ψ ∗ µ Ψd 3 r (2.55)<br />

<strong>of</strong> the microscopic polarization operator µ = −er by solving Schrödinger’s<br />

equation,<br />

i ∂Ψ<br />

∂t<br />

= HΨ. (2.56)<br />

Here H = H0+Hcoh+Hdamp is the sum <strong>of</strong> the unperturbed atomic Hamiltonian<br />

H0, the Hamiltonian describing the coherent evolution <strong>of</strong> the atom driven by<br />

the optical field Hcoh = −µ · E(t) and the Hamiltonian due to inter-atomic<br />

damping processes such as collisions. <strong>The</strong> inclusion <strong>of</strong> the third term means<br />

that we must consider the system as a quantum ensemble, not as individual<br />

atoms. Because the system we are describing comprises a large number <strong>of</strong><br />

50

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