Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics Seminar

We have recently developed a two-pathway coherent control technique as a means of detecting and measuring weak optical interactions in atoms. This technique allows us to amplify the magnitude of a weak transition by observing its coherent beat signal with a stronger "local oscillator" signal. In the work carried out to date, we have used the interference between a strong two-photon transition in atomic Cesium and a weak Stark-induced transition, to measure the strength of the latter. We will describe the measurements, discuss signal-to-noise issues, and discuss its potential for measurement of other weak interactions such as magnetic dipole or electric quadrupole interactions.