Measurement of the total spin angular momentum <Fz> of alkali-metal atoms

Abstract

It is important to evaluate the total spin angular momentum of alkali-metal atoms if the atoms serve as a reservoir of angular momenta. We use an absorption-monitoring technique to measure <Fz>, i.e., the expectation values of the quantization (z) axis components of the total angular momentum of cesium (Cs) atoms in the electronic ground state in both uncoated and anti-relaxation-coated vacuum cells at room temperature. Cs atoms are polarized via optical pumping and probed using their D2 transitions. The probe laser frequency is varied across the Doppler-broadened D2 transition; the <Fz> values are derived using the integrated absorption coefficients. The largest <Fz> is 2.5 for the coated cell. We then use a simple model of spin flow through vapor cells to estimate the atomic spin relaxation probabilities after a single surface collision.