Quantum States Imaging of Magnetic Field Contours based on Autler-Townes Effect in Yb Atoms

Abstract

An inter-combination transition in Yb enables a novel approach for rapidly imaging magnetic field variations with excellent spatial and temporal resolution and accuracy. This quantum imaging magnetometer reveals "dark stripes" that are contours of constant magnetic field visible by eye or capturable by standard cameras. These dark lines result from a combination of Autler-Townes splitting and the spatial Hanle effect in the $^{1}S_{0} - ^{3}P_{1}$ transition of Yb when driven by multiple strong coherent laser fields (carrier and AM/FM modulation sidebands of a single-mode 556 nm laser). We show good agreement between experimental data and our theoretical model for the closed, 4-level Zeeman shifted V-system and demonstrate scalar and vector magnetic fields measurements at video frame rates over spatial dimensions of 5 cm with 0.1 mm resolution. Additionally, the $^{1}S_{0} - ^{3}P_{1}$ transition allows for $\sim\mu$s response time and a large dynamic range (from microtesla to many tesla).