Spin coherence and optical properties of alkali-metal atoms in solid parahydrogen

Abstract

We present a joint experimental and theoretical study of spin coherence properties of 39K, 85Rb, 87Rb, and 133Cs atoms trapped in a solid parahydrogen matrix. We use optical pumping to prepare the spin states of the implanted atoms and circular dichroism to measure their spin states. Optical pumping signals show order-of-magnitude differences depending on both matrix growth conditions and atomic species. We measure the ensemble transverse relaxation times (T2*) of the spin states of the alkali-metal atoms. Different alkali species exhibit dramatically different T2* times, ranging from sub-microsecond coherence times for high mF states of 87Rb, to ~100 microseconds for 39K. These are the longest ensemble T2* times reported for an electron spin system at high densities (n > 10^16 cm^-3). To interpret these observations, we develop a theory of inhomogenous broadening of hyperfine transitions of ^2S atoms in weakly-interacting solid matrices. Our calculated ensemble transverse relaxation times agree well with experiment, and suggest ways to longer coherence times in future work.

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• Ultracold molecular collisions in magnetic fields: Efficient incorporation of hyperfine structure in the total rotational angular momentum representation
• Radiative properties of rubidium atoms trapped in solid neon and parahydrogen
• Cesium atoms in cryogenic argon matrix
• Hyperfine and Zeeman interactions in ultracold collisions of molecular hydrogen with atomic lithium
• Crystal Fields and Zeeman Effect for Thulium in Solid Argon
• Long nuclear spin coherence times for molecules trapped in high-purity solid parahydrogen