Formation of narrow atomic lines of Rb in the UV region using a magnetic field

Abstract

Magnetically induced (MI) transitions (F${}_{g}$ = 1 $\rightarrow$ F${}_{e}$= 3) of ${}^{87}$Rb D${}_{2}$ line are among the most promising atomic transitions for applications in laser physics. They reach their maximum intensity in the 0.2--2 kG magnetic field range and are more intense than many conventional atomic transitions. An important feature of MI transitions is their large frequency shift with respect to the unperturbed hyperfine transitions which reaches $\sim$12 GHz in magnetic fields of $\sim$ 3 kG, while they are formed on the high-frequency wing of the spectrum and do not overlap with other transitions. Some important peculiarities have been demonstrated for the MI 5S${}_{1/2}$$\rightarrow$ 5P${}_{3/2}$ transitions ($\lambda$=780 nm). Particularly, it was shown that using a nanocell with thickness $L= 100$~nm it is possible to realize 1 $\mu$m-spatial resolution which is important when determining magnetic fields with strong spatial gradient (of $>$~3G /$\mu$m). Earlier, our studies have been performed for 5S${}_{1/2}$ $\rightarrow$ $n$P${}_{3/2}$ transition with $n = 5$, while it is also theoretically shown to be promising for the transitions with $n = 6, 7, 8$ and $9$, corresponding to the transition wavelengths of 420.2~nm, 358.7~nm, 334.9~nm and 322.8~nm, respectively.