Microscopic Lensing by a Dense, Cold Atomic Sample

Abstract

We demonstrate that a cold, dense sample of 87Rb atoms can exhibit a micron-scale lensing effect, much like that associated with a macroscopically-sized lens. The experiment is carried out in the fashion of traditional z-scan measurements but in much weaker fields and where close attention is paid to the detuning dependence of the transmitted light. The results are interpreted using numerical simulations and by modeling the sample as a thin lens with a spherical focal length.

References in corpus (3)

• Observation of suppression of light scattering induced by dipole-dipole interactions in a cold atomic ensemble
• Cooperativity in light scattering by cold atoms
• Cooperatively enhanced light transmission in cold atomic matter

Cited by in corpus (21)

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• Superradiance as single scattering embedded in an effective medium
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• Collective effects in the radiation pressure force
• Comparison of three approaches to light scattering by dilute cold atomic ensembles
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• Optical-depth scaling of light scattering from a dense and cold atomic ${}^{87}$Rb gas
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• Random Lasing in an Inhomogeneous and Disordered System of Cold Atoms
• Cooperative spontaneous decay of local excitation in a dense and disordered ensemble of point-like impurity atoms near a charged conductive surface