Abstract

Propagation of resonant laser light through nonlinear media usually leads to a modification of optical properties. We demonstrate and explain such modifications for sodium vapor: the combination of three well-known effects, “optical pumping,”^1,2 “light-shift,”^3,4 and “Larmor precession,” can cause a huge apparent frequency shift and asymmetry of the absorption profiles of circularly polarized light.

© 1994 IEEE