Despite the quantum nature of the process, collective scattering by dense cold samples of two-level atoms can be interpreted classically describing the sample as a macroscopic object with a complex refractive index. We demonstrate that resonances in Mie theory can be easily observable in the cooperative scattering by tuning the frequency of the incident laser field or the atomic number. The solution of the scattering problem is obtained for spherical atomic clouds who have the parabolic density characteristic of BECs, and the cooperative radiation pressure force calculated exhibits resonances in the cloud displacement for dense clouds. At odds with uniform clouds which show a complex structure including narrow peaks, these densities show resonances, yet only under the form of quite regular and contrasted oscillations.

Resonances in Mie scattering by an inhomogeneous atomic cloud / R. Bachelard, P.W. Courteille, R. Kaiser, N. Piovella. - In: EUROPHYSICS LETTERS. - ISSN 0295-5075. - 97:1(2012), pp. 14004.1-14004.6. [10.1209/0295-5075/97/14004]

Resonances in Mie scattering by an inhomogeneous atomic cloud

N. Piovella
Ultimo
2012

Abstract

Despite the quantum nature of the process, collective scattering by dense cold samples of two-level atoms can be interpreted classically describing the sample as a macroscopic object with a complex refractive index. We demonstrate that resonances in Mie theory can be easily observable in the cooperative scattering by tuning the frequency of the incident laser field or the atomic number. The solution of the scattering problem is obtained for spherical atomic clouds who have the parabolic density characteristic of BECs, and the cooperative radiation pressure force calculated exhibits resonances in the cloud displacement for dense clouds. At odds with uniform clouds which show a complex structure including narrow peaks, these densities show resonances, yet only under the form of quite regular and contrasted oscillations.
Settore FIS/03 - Fisica della Materia
2012
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2434/231042
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