On the possibility of polarizing atoms and nuclei by pulsed electromagnetic fields without using ultra-low temperatures

Abstract

A method is proposed for fast and deep polarization of the system of hyperfine sublevels of the ground state of an atom having an optical excited state by means of two-component microwave pulses. The pulse of the bichromatic optical field that induces the transitions between the ground state and excited state of the atom is supposed to provide coherence among the hyperfine sublevels of the atomic ground state via the effect of coherent population trapping. The subsequent resonance microwave pulses create the polarization of equally populated ground state sublevels of the atom. The proposed polarization technique may be used for designing the new schemes of quantum computers, for the pulse transformation in optical experiments when light passes through a resonant medium containing rear-earth ions, as well as for producing polarized nuclear targets.