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In this paper, we present the spectroscopy of 6P$_{1/2}$ state in $^{87}$Rb using double resonance technique at $780~\text{nm}$ and $421~\text{nm}$. The double resonance technique is implemented using electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) and optical pumping methods. Using these spectroscopy methods, we have measured the hyperfine splitting of 6P$_{1/2}$ state with precision of $<$400~kHz which agrees well with other spectroscopy methods such as electrical discharge and saturated absorption spectroscopy at $421~\text{nm}$., Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures

We experimentally demonstrate electromagnetically induced absorption (EIA) in a vee + ladder system. The experiment is done using the low-lying energy levels of $^{87}$Rb. A theoretical model of the system is made that reproduces the experimental results. We study the dependence of the characteristics of the EIA resonance on various combinations of the different control powers. We also explore the contribution of various incoherent phenomena that affect the EIA signal., Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures

We demonstrate laser interferometry based on phase difference between the two arms of the interferometer. The experiments are done with a Cs atomic vapor cell at room temperature and use atomic coherence. The interference can be tuned from constructive to destructive by tuning the relative phase between the two arms. It is similar to the Michelson interferometer, but differs in the important aspect of allowing interference when the polarizations in the two arms are orthogonal. This would be a novel method for interfering two independent lasers, which even can allow interfering two independent lasers of completely different wavelengths---such as of UV and IR---and also possibly phase lock them., Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures

We demonstrate---experimentally and theoretically---that resonances obtained in electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) can be both bright and dark. The experiments are done using magnetic sublevels of a hyperfine transition in the D$_1$ line of $^{87}$Rb. The degeneracy of the sublevels is removed by having a magnetic field of value 27 G. The atoms are contained in a room-temperature vapor cell with anti-relaxation coating on the walls. Theoretical analysis based on a two-region model reproduces the experimental spectrum quite well. This ability to have both bright and dark resonances promises applications in sub- and super-luminal propagation of light, and sensitive magnetometry., Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures

We use the technique of coherent population trapping (CPT) to access the ground hyperfine interval (clock transition) in $^{133}$Cs. The probe and control beams required for CPT are obtained from a single compact diode laser system. The phase coherence between the beams, whose frequency difference is the clock frequency, is obtained by frequency modulating the laser with an electro-optic modulator (EOM). The EOM is fiber coupled and hence does not require alignment, and the atoms are contained in a vapor cell. Both of these should prove advantageous for potential use as atomic clocks in satellites., Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures

We demonstrate a technique for continuous tuning of the Hanle effect from electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) to electromagnetically induced absorption (EIA) by changing the polarization ellipticity of a control beam. In contrast to previous work in this field, we use spatially separated probe and control beams. The experiments are done using magnetic sublevels of the $ F_g = 4 \rightarrow F_e = 5 $ closed hyperfine transition in the 852 nm D$_2$ line of $^{133}$Cs. The atoms are contained in a room temperature vapor cell with anti-relaxation (paraffin) coating on the walls. The paraffin coating is necessary for the atomic coherence to be transported between the beams. The experimental results are supported by a density-matrix analysis of the system, which also explains the observed amplitude and zero-crossing of the resonances. Such continuous tuning of the sign of a resonance has important applications in quantum memory and other precision measurements., Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures

We demonstrate a technique for obtaining the density of atomic vapor, by doing a fit of the resonant absorption spectrum to a density-matrix model. In order to demonstrate the usefulness of the technique, we apply it to absorption in the ${\rm D_2}$ line of a Cs vapor cell at room temperature. The lineshape of the spectrum is asymmetric due to the role of open transitions. This asymmetry is explained in the model using transit-time relaxation as the atoms traverse the laser beam. We also obtain the latent heat of evaporation by studying the number density as a function of temperature close to room temperature., Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures; Accepted

We demonstrate resonances due to coherent population pumping in a bright state (CBS), using magnetic sublevels of the closed $ F_g = 2 \rightarrow F_e = 3 $ transition in $^{87}$Rb. The experiments are performed at room temperature vapor in two kinds of cells---one that is pure and the second that contains a buffer gas of Ne at 20 torr. We also present the effect of pump power variation on the CBS linewidth, and explain the behavior by using a power-dependent scattering rate. The experimentally observed CBS resonances are supported by a density-matrix analysis of the system., Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures

We report a precise measurement of hyperfine structure in the $ \rm {3\,S_{1/2}} $ state of the odd isotope of Li, namely $ \rm {^7Li} $. The state is excited from the ground $ \rm {2\,S_{1/2}} $ state (which has the same parity) using two single-photon transitions via the intermediate $ \rm {2\,P_{3/2}} $ state. The value of the hyperfine constant we measure is $ A = 93.095(52)$ MHz, which resolves two discrepant values reported in the literature measured using other techniques. Our value is also consistent with theoretical calculations., Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures

We report a precise measurement of hyperfine constants in the $\rm{D_1} $ line ($ \rm {5\,P_{1/2}} $ state) of the two stable isotopes of Rb. The motivation for the work is to try and resolve discrepant values that exists in the literature. We use a technique that is different from other methods---one where the laser is not locked to a particular transition but scanned around it. This is advantageous because it overcomes frequency shifts due to servo-loop errors and other sources of noise in the experiment. The values in the two isotopes are: $ A = 120.510(26) $ MHz in $\rm {^{85}Rb}$, and $ A = 408.340(19) $ MHz in $\rm {^{87}Rb}$. These values are at variance with earlier values reported from our lab, but consistent with other published measurements., Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures

We present a theoretical study to investigate sub- and super-luminal light propagation in a rubidium atomic system consisting of a Rydberg state by using density matrix formalism. The analysis is performed in a 4-level vee+ladder system interacting with a weak probe, and strong control and switching fields. The dispersion and absorption profiles are shown for stationary atoms as well as for moving atoms by carrying out Doppler averaging at room temperature. We also present the group index variation with control Rabi frequency and observe that a transparent medium can be switched from sub- to super-luminal propagation in the presence of switching field. Finally, the transient response of the medium is discussed, which shows that the considered 4-level scheme has potential applications in absorptive optical switching., Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures

We demonstrate a technique for producing a cold pulsed beam of atoms by transferring a cloud of atoms trapped in a three dimensional magneto-optic trap (MOT). The MOT is loaded by heating a getter source of Rb atoms. We show that it is advantageous to transfer with two beams (with a small angle between them) compared to a single beam, because the atoms stop interacting with the beams in the two-beam technique, which results in a Gaussian velocity distribution. The atoms are further cooled in optical molasses by turning off the MOT magnetic field before the transfer beams are turned on., Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures

We study coherent population oscillations (CPO) in an odd isotope of the two-electron atom Yb. The experiments are done using magnetic sublevels of the $ F_g = 5/2 \rightarrow F_e = 3/2 $ hyperfine transition in $^{173}$Yb of the $ {\rm {^1S_0} \rightarrow {^3P_1}} $ intercombination line. The experiments are done both with and without an appied magnetic field. In the absence of an applied field, the complicated sublevel structure along with the saturated fluorescence effect causes the linewidth to be larger than the 190 kHz natural linewidth of the transition. In the presence of a field (of magnitude 330 mG), a well-defined quantization axis is present which results in the formation of two M-type systems. The total fluorescence is then limited by spin coherence among the ground sublevels. In addition, the pump beam gets detuned from resonance which results in a reduced scattering rate from the $ {\rm ^3P_1} $ state. Both of these effects result in a reduction of the linewidth to a subnatural value of about 100 kHz., Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures

Electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in three-level systems uses a strong control laser on one transition to modify the absorption of a weak probe laser on a second transition. The control laser creates dressed states whose decay pathways show interference. We study the role of dressed-state interference in causing EIT in the three types of three-level systems -- lambda ($\Lambda$), ladder ($\Xi$), and vee (V). In order to get realistic values for the linewidths of the energy levels involved, we consider appropriate hyperfine levels of $^{87}$Rb. For such realistic systems, we find that dressed-state interference causes probe absorption---given by the imaginary part of the susceptibility---to go to zero in a $\Lambda$ system, but plays a negligible role in $\Xi$ and V systems., Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures

We present a theoretical investigation of the phenomenon of electromagnetically induced absorption (EIA) in a 4-level system consisting of vee and ladder subsystems. The four levels are coupled using one weak probe field, and two strong control fields. We consider an experimental realization using energy levels of Rb. This necessitates dealing with different conditions of wavelength mismatch---near-perfect match where all three wavelengths are approximately equal; partial mismatch where the wavelength of one control field is less than the other fields; and complete mismatch where all three wavelengths are unequal. We present probe absorption profiles with Doppler averaging at room temperature to account for experiments in a room temperature Rb vapor cell. Our analysis shows that EIA resonances can be studied using Rydberg states excited with diode lasers., Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures

We report observation of the $\rm 5S_{1/2} \rightarrow 5D_{5/2}$ two-photon transition in Rb vapor at 778 nm, using an external cavity diode laser system and a heated vapor cell. The spectra in the two isotopes show well-resolved hyperfine transitions. The peaks are Doppler free, and have a Lorentzian lineshape with a typical linewidth of 2.2 MHz. This linewidth is larger than the natural linewidth of 300 kHz, but is still 5--10 times smaller than the linewidth for single-photon transitions in the D$_2$ line. Since the absolute frequency of this transition is measured with 8 kHz precision, it can form a better secondary reference in the optical regime compared to the D$_2$ line., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures

We demonstrate that the Hanle effect can be tuned between magnetically induced absorption (MIA) and magnetically induced transmission (MIT) simply by changing the polarization of the input laser beam. The experiments are done using closed hyperfine transitions of the $ \rm D_2 $ line of ${\rm ^{133}Cs}$ ---$ F_g = 3 \rightarrow F_e = 2 $ and $ F_g =4 \rightarrow F_e = 5 $. The former shows a transformation from MIT to MIA, while the latter shows the opposite behavior. A qualitative explanation based on optical pumping and coherences among the magnetic sublevels of the ground state is borne out by a detailed density-matrix calculation. To increase the coherence time, the experiments are done in a Cs vapor cell with paraffin coating on the walls. The observed linewidth is extremely narrow ($\sim 0.1$ mG) compared to previous work in this area, making this a promising technique for all kinds of precision measurements., Comment: 17 pages, 10 figures

We demonstrate a straight-forward technique to measure the linewidth of a grating-stabilized diode laser system---known as an external cavity diode laser (ECDL)---by beating the output of two independent ECDLs in a Michelson interferometer, and then taking the Fourier transform of the beat signal. The measured linewidth is the sum of the linewidths of the two laser systems. Assuming that the two are equal, we find that the linewidth of each ECDL measured over a time period of 2 \textmu s is about 0.3 MHz. This narrow linewidth shows the advantage of using such systems for high-resolution spectroscopy and other experiments in atomic physics., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures

We present the results of a theoretical study of a four-level atomic system in vee + ladder configuration using a density matrix analysis. The absorption and dispersion profiles are derived for a weak probe field and for varying strengths of the two strong control fields. For specificity, we choose energy levels of $^{87}$Rb, and present results for both stationary atoms and moving atoms in room temperature vapor. An electromagnetically induced absorption (EIA) peak with negative dispersion is observed at zero probe detuning when the control fields have equal strengths, which switches to electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) with positive dispersion (due to splitting of the EIA peak) when the control fields are unequal. There is significant linewidth narrowing in thermal vapor., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures

We discuss the differences between two well-studied and related phenomena---coherent population trapping (CPT) and electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). Many differences between the two---such as the effect of power in the beams, detuning of the beams from resonance, and the use of vapor cells filled with buffer gas---are demonstrated experimentally. The experiments are done using magnetic sublevels of the $ 1 \rightarrow 1 $ transition in the D$_2$ line of $^{87}$Rb., Comment: 9 pages, 13 figures

We use the technique of chopped nonlinear magneto-optic rotation (NMOR) in a room temperature $^{133}$Cs vapor cell to measure the permanent electric dipole moment (EDM) in the atom. The cell has paraffin coating on the walls to increase the relaxation time. The signature of the EDM is a shift in the Larmor precession frequency which is correlated with the application of an E field. We analyze errors in the technique, and show that the main source of systematic error is the appearance of a longitudinal B field when the E field is applied. This error can be eliminated by doing measurements on the two ground hyperfine levels. Using an E field of 2.6 kV/cm, we place an upper limit on the electron EDM of $ 2.9 \times 10^{-22} $ e-cm ($95 \%$ confidence). This limit can be increased by 7 orders-of-magnitude---and brought below the current best experimental value---with easily implementable improvements to the technique., Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures

We observe coherent population trapping (CPT) in a two-electron atom---$^{174}$Yb---using the $\rm {^1S_0,F=0} \rightarrow {^3P_1,F'=1}$ transition. CPT is not possible for such a transition according to one-electron theory because the magnetic sublevels form a V-type system, but in a two-electron atom like Yb, the interaction of the electrons transforms the level structure into a $ \Lambda $-type system, which allows the formation of a dark state and hence the observation of CPT. Since the two levels involved are degenerate, we use a magnetic field to lift the degeneracy. The single fluorescence dip then splits into five dips---the central unshifted one corresponds to coherent population oscillation, while the outer four are due to CPT. The linewidth of the CPT resonance is about 300 kHz and is limited by the natural linewidth of the excited state, which is to be expected because the excited state is involved in the formation of the dark state., Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables

We use the Ramsey separated oscillatory fields (SOF) technique in a $400^\circ$C thermal beam of Yb atoms to measure the Larmor precession frequency with high precision. For the experiment, we use the strongly-allowed ${^1S_0} \rightarrow {^1P_1}$ transition at $399$ nm, and choose the odd isotope $^{171}$Yb with nuclear spin $I=1/2$, so that the ground state has only two magnetic sublevels $m_F = \pm 1/2$. With a magnetic field of $22.2$ G and a separation of about $400$ mm between the oscillatory fields, the central Ramsey fringe is at $16.64$ kHz and has a width of $350$ Hz. The technique can be readily adapted to a cold atomic beam, and should be useful in experiments searching for a permanent electric dipole moment (EDM) in atoms., Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures

We demonstrate generation of an isotopically pure beam of laser-cooled Yb atoms by deflection using 1D-optical molasses. Atoms in a collimated thermal beam are first slowed using a Zeeman Slower. They are then subjected to a pair of molasses beams inclined at $45^\circ$ with respect to the slowed atomic beam. The slowed atoms are deflected and probed at a distance of 160 mm. We demonstrate selective deflection of the bosonic isotope $^{174}$Yb, and the fermionic isotope $^{171}$Yb. Using a transient measurement after the molasses beams are turned on, we find a longitudinal temperature of 41 mK., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1303.7057

We demonstrate extremely narrow resonances for polarization rotation in an atomic vapor. The resonances are created using a strong control laser on the same transition, which polarizes the atoms due to optical pumping among the magnetic sublevels. As the power in the control laser is increased, successively higher-order nested polarization rotation resonances are created, with progressively narrower linewidths. We study these resonances in the $D_2$ line of Rb in a room-temperature vapor cell, and demonstrate a width of $0.14 \, \Gamma$ for the third-order rotation. The explanation based on a simplified $\Lambda$V-type level structure is borne out by a density-matrix analysis of the system. The dispersive lineshape and subnatural width of the resonance lends itself naturally to applications such as laser locking to atomic transitions and precision measurements., Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures

With each passing year, the young Albert Einstein's achievements in physics in the year 1905 seem to be ever more miraculous. We describe why the centenary of this remarkable year is worthy of celebration., Comment: 13 pages, no figures

Einstein was in many ways like a detective on a mystery trail, though in his case he was on the trail of nature's mysteries and not some murder mystery! And like all good detectives he had a style. It consisted of taking facts that he knew were correct and forcing nature into a situation that would contradict this established truth. In this process she would be forced to reveal some new truths. Einstein's 1917 paper on the quantum theory of radiation is a classic example of this style and enabled him to predict the existence of stimulated radiation starting from an analysis of thermodynamic equilibrium between matter and radiation., Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures

We discuss the absorber theory of radiation as put forward by Wheeler and Feynman. We show that it gives a better understanding of the photon compared to the usual quantum electrodynamics (QED) picture., Comment: 9 pages

We demonstrate launching of laser-cooled Yb atoms in a continuous atomic beam. The continuous cold beam has significant advantages over the more-common pulsed fountain, which was also demonstrated by us recently. The cold beam is formed in the following steps---(i) Atoms from a thermal beam are first Zeeman slowed to a small final velocity, (ii) the slowed atoms are captured in a two-dimensional magneto-optic trap (2D-MOT), and (iii) atoms are launched {\em continuously} in the vertical direction using two sets of moving-molasses beams, inclined at $\pm 15^\circ$ to the vertical. The cooling transition used is the strongly-allowed ${^1S}_0 \rightarrow {^1P}_1$ transition at 399 nm. We capture about $7 \times 10^6$ atoms in the 2D-MOT, and then launch them with a vertical velocity of 13 m/s at a longitudinal temperature of 125(6) mK., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures

We analyze Einstein's views on God and religion, and his views on Quantum Mechanics., Comment: 7 pages, no figures

We discuss the purported link between cell-phone radiation and cancer. We show that it is inconsistent with the photoelectric effect, and that epidemiological studies of any link have no scientific basis., Comment: 4 pages, no figures

We measure hyperfine structure in the metastable ${^3P}_2$ state of $^{173}$Yb and extract the nuclear magnetic octupole moment. We populate the state using dipole-allowed transitions through the ${^3P}_1$ and ${^3S}_1$ states. We measure frequencies of hyperfine transitions of the ${^3P}_2 \rightarrow {^3S}_1$ line at 770 nm using a Rb-stabilized ring cavity resonator with a precision of 200 kHz. Second-order corrections due to perturbations from the nearby ${^3P}_1$ and ${^1P}_1$ states are below 30 kHz. We obtain the hyperfine coefficients as: $A=-742.11(2)$ MHz, $B=1339.2(2)$ MHz, which represent two orders-of-magnitude improvement in precision, and $C=0.54(2)$ MHz. From atomic structure calculations, we obtain the nuclear moments: quadrupole $Q=2.46(12)$ b and octupole $\Omega=-34.4(21)$ b\,$\times \mu_N$., Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure

The accepted resolution of the twin paradox in relativity states that the age of the inertial twin `jumps' when the traveling twin undergoes his turn-around acceleration. This resolution is based on the use of the equivalent gravitational shift in the frame of the accelerating twin. We use the same analysis to propose a symmetric variant of the problem with the twins experiencing identical acceleration and deceleration phases, but which predicts conflicting results for the age of the other twin. We also propose an unambiguous test of the standard resolution based on the Pound-Rebka experiment., Comment: 4 pages, no figures

We study the phenomenon of electromagnetically induced transparency and absorption (EITA) using a control laser with a Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) profile instead of the usual Gaussian profile, and observe resonances with width up to 20 times below the natural linewidth. Aligning the probe beam to the central hole in the doughnut-shaped LG control beam allows simultaneously a strong control intensity required for high signal-to-noise ratio and a low intensity in the probe region required to get narrow resonances. Experiments with a second-order LG beam show that transit time and orbital angular momentum do not play a significant role. This explanation is borne out by a density-matrix analysis with a radially varying control Rabi frequency. We observe these resonances using degenerate two-level transitions in the $D_2$ line of Rb in a room temperature vapor cell. We show that the linewidth is reduced by about a factor of 4 compared to the use of a Gaussian control beam, which should prove advantageous in all applications of EITA and other kinds of pump-probe spectroscopy., Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures

We have developed a technique for precise measurement of small magnetic fields using nonlinear magneto-optic rotation (NMOR). The technique relies on the resonant laser beam being chopped. During the on time, the atoms are optically pumped into an aligned ground state ($\Delta m=2$ coherence). During the off time, they freely precess around the magnetic field at the Larmor frequency. If the on-off modulation frequency matches (twice) the Larmor precession frequency, the rotation is resonantly enhanced in every cycle, thereby making the process like a repeated Ramsey measurement of the Larmor frequency. We study chopped-NMOR in a paraffin-coated Cs vapor cell. The out-of-phase demodulated rotation shows a Lorentzian peak of linewidth 85 $\mu$G, corresponding to a sensitivity of 0.15 nG/$\sqrt{{\rm Hz}}$. We discuss the potential of this technique for the measurement of an atomic electric-dipole moment., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures

We have developed a technique to measure the absolute frequencies of optical transitions by using an evacuated Rb-stabilized ring-cavity resonator as a transfer cavity. We study possible wavelength-dependent errors due to dispersion at the cavity mirrors by measuring the frequency of the same transition in the $D_2$ line of Cs at three cavity lengths. We find no discernable change in values within our error of 30 kHz. Our values are consistent with measurements using the frequency-comb technique and have similar accuracy., Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures

We show that it is possible to change from a {\it subnatural} electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) feature to a {\it subnatural} electromagnetically induced absorption (EIA) feature in a (degenerate) three-level $\Lambda$ system. The change is effected by turning on a second control beam counter-propagating with respect to the first beam. We observe this change in the $D_2$ line of Rb in a room-temperature vapor cell. The observations are supported by density-matrix analysis of the complete sublevel structure including the effect of Doppler averaging, but can be understood qualitatively as arising due to the formation of $N$-type systems with the two control beams. Since many of the applications of EIT and EIA rely on the anomalous dispersion near the resonances, this introduces a new ability to control the sign of the dispersion., Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures

We have shown earlier that hyperfine spectroscopy in a vapor cell using co-propagating pump-probe beams has many advantages over the usual technique of saturated-absorption spectroscopy using counter-propagating beams. The main advantages are the absence of crossover resonances, the appearance of the signal on a flat (Doppler-free) background, and the higher signal-to-noise ratio of the primary peaks. Interaction with non-zero-velocity atoms causes additional peaks, but only one of them appears within the primary spectrum. We first illustrate the advantages of this technique for high-resolution spectroscopy by studying the $D_2$ line of Rb. We then use an acousto-optic modulator (AOM) for frequency calibration to make precise hyperfine-interval measurements in the first excited $P_{3/2}$ state of $^{85,87}$Rb and $^{133}$Cs., Comment: 9 pages, 11 figures, 3 tables

We observe linewidths below the natural linewidth for a probe laser on a {\it two-level system}, when the same transition is driven by a strong control laser. We take advantage of the fact that each level is made of multiple magnetic sublevels, and use the phenomenon of electromagnetically induced transparency or absorption in multilevel systems. Optical pumping by the control laser redistributes the population so that only a few sublevels contribute to the probe absorption. We observe more than a factor of 3 reduction in linewidth in the $D_2$ line of Rb in room-temperature vapor. The observations can be understood from a density-matrix analysis of the sublevel structure., Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures

We report a precise measurement of the hyperfine interval in the ${2P}_{1/2}$ state of $^{7}$Li. The transition from the ground state ($D_1$ line) is accessed using a diode laser and the technique of saturated-absorption spectroscopy in hot Li vapor. The interval is measured by locking an acousto-optic modulator to the frequency difference between the two hyperfine peaks. The measured interval of 92.040(6)~MHz is consistent with an earlier measurement reported by us using an atomic-beam spectrometer [Das and Natarajan, J.\ Phys.\ B {\bf 41}, 035001 (2008)]. The interval yields the magnetic dipole constant in the $P_{1/2}$ state as $A=46.047(3)$, which is discrepant from theoretical calculations by $>80$~kHz., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures

We analyze theoretically the phenomenon of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) under conditions where the probe laser is not in the usual weak limit. We consider the effects in both three-level and four-level systems, which are either closed or open (due to losses to an external metastable level). We find that the EIT dip almost disappears in a closed three-level system but survives in an open system. In four-level systems, there is a narrow enhanced-absorption peak (EITA) at line center, which has applications as an optical clock. The peak converts to an EIT dip in a closed system, but again survives in an open system., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure, accepted in Optics Communications

We demonstrate launching of laser-cooled Yb atoms in a cold atomic fountain. Atoms in a collimated thermal beam are first cooled and captured in a magneto-optic trap (MOT) operating on the strongly-allowed ${^1S}_0 \rightarrow {^1P}_1$ transition at 399~nm (blue line). They are then transferred to a MOT on the weakly-allowed ${^1S}_0 \rightarrow {^3P}_1$ transition at 556~nm (green line). Cold atoms from the green MOT are launched against gravity at a velocity of around 2.5~m/s using a pair of green beams. We trap more than $10^7$ atoms in the blue MOT and transfer up to 70\% into the green MOT. The temperature for the odd isotope, $^{171}$Yb, is $\sim$1~mK in the blue MOT, and reduces by a factor of 40 in the green MOT., Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures

We obtain subnatural linewidth (i.e. $<\Gamma$) for probe absorption in room-temperature Rb vapor using electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in a $\Lambda$ system. For stationary atoms, the EIT dip for a resonant control laser is as wide as the control Rabi frequency $\Omega_c$. But in thermal vapor, the moving atoms fill the transparency band so that the final EIT dip remains subnatural even when $\Omega_c > \Gamma$. We observe linewidths as small as $\Gamma/7$ in the $D_2$ line of Rb., Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures

We have measured hyperfine structure in the first-excited $P$ state ($D$ lines) of all the naturally-occurring alkali atoms. We use high-resolution laser spectroscopy to resolve hyperfine transitions, and measure intervals by locking the frequency shift produced by an acousto-optic modulator to the difference between two transitions. In most cases, the hyperfine coupling constants derived from our measurements improve previous values significantly., Comment: 24 pages, 13 figures, accepted in Journal of Physics B: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics

We have observed the persistent flow of Bose-condensed atoms in a toroidal trap. The flow persists without decay for up to 10 s, limited only by experimental factors such as drift and trap lifetime. The quantized rotation was initiated by transferring one unit, $\hbar$, of the orbital angular momentum from Laguerre-Gaussian photons to each atom. Stable flow was only possible when the trap was multiply-connected, and was observed with a BEC fraction as small as 15%. We also created flow with two units of angular momentum, and observed its splitting into two singly-charged vortices when the trap geometry was changed from multiply- to simply-connected., Comment: 1 file, 5 figures

We use the phenomenon of electromagnetically-induced transparency in a three-level atomic system for hyperfine spectroscopy of upper states that are not directly coupled to the ground state. The three levels form a ladder system: the probe laser couples the ground state to the lower excited state, while the control laser couples the two upper states. As the frequency of the control laser is scanned, the probe absorption shows transparency peaks whenever the control laser is resonant with a hyperfine level of the upper state. As an illustration of the technique, we measure hyperfine structure in the $7S_{1/2}$ states of $^{85}$Rb and $^{87}$Rb, and obtain an improvement of more than an order of magnitude over previous values., Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures

We demonstrate two techniques for studying the features of three-level systems driven by two lasers (called control and probe), when the transitions are Doppler broadened as in room-temperature vapor. For $\Lambda$-type systems, the probe laser is split to produce a counter-propagating pump beam that saturates the transition for the zero-velocity atoms. Probe transmission then shows Doppler-free peaks, which can even have sub-natural linewidth. For V-type systems, the transmission of the control beam is detected as the probe laser is scanned. The signal shows Doppler-free peaks when the probe laser is resonant with transitions for the zero-velocity group. Both techniques greatly simplify the study of three-level systems since theoretical predictions can be directly compared without complications from Doppler broadening and the presence of multiple hyperfine levels in the spectrum., Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures

We propose an experiment to search for a permanent atomic electric-dipole moment (EDM) using laser-cooled $^{171}$Yb atoms launched in an atomic fountain. A uniform B field sets the quantization axis, and the Ramsey separated-oscillatory-fields method is used to measure the Zeeman precession frequency of the atoms. Laser beams of appropriate polarization are used for preparation and detection in a given magnetic sublevel. The signature of an EDM is a shift in the Ramsey resonance correlated with application of a large E field. The precision is expected to be at least 20 times better than current limits because the use of a cold atomic beam allows application of E field 10 times larger than in a vapor cell, and the interaction time with the E field is 200 times larger compared to a thermal beam. The leading source of systematic error in beam experiments, the (E x v/c) motional magnetic field, is reduced considerably because of the near-perfect reversal of velocity between up and down trajectories through the E-field region., Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures

We report a value for the $D_2$-line frequency of $^{39}$K with 0.25 ppb uncertainty. The frequency is measured using an evacuated ring-cavity resonator whose length is calibrated against a reference laser. The $D_2$ line presents a problem in identifying the line center because the closely-spaced energy levels of the excited state are not resolved. We use computer modelling of the measured spectrum to extract the line center and obtain a value of 391 015 578.040(75) MHz. In conjunction with our previous measurement of the $D_1$ line, we determine the fine-structure interval in the $4P$ state to be 1 729 997.132(90) MHz. The results represent significant improvement over previous values., Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures

We demonstrate a technique for frequency measurements of atomic transitions with a precision of 30 kHz. The frequency is measured using a ring-cavity resonator whose length is calibrated against a reference laser locked to the $D_2$ line of $^{87}$Rb, the frequency of which is known to 10 kHz. We have used this to measure the hyperfine structure in the $5P_{3/2}$ state of $^{85}$Rb. We obtain precise values for the hyperfine constants $A=25.041(6)$ MHz and $B=26.013(25)$ MHz, and a value of 77.992(20) MHz for the isotope shift in the $D_2$ line., Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures. To appear in Optics Letters, September 1, 2003 issue