Effect of a stray magnetic field on nonlinear magneto-optical resonances observed in the geometry of counter-propagating light waves

Abstract

Magneto-optical resonances of electromagnetically induced absorption (EIA) in a cell filled with the vapor of alkali atoms and buffer gas are considered. The atoms are excited using a configuration of electromagnetic fields composed of two counter-propagating linearly polarized light waves and a static magnetic field. We focus on the influence of the residual magnetic field on the parameters of nonlinear resonances. In real experiments, a residual field is always present in the cell due to imperfect magnetic-field shielding. On the basis of calculations, we formulate practical recommendations for controlling the residual magnetic field in the experiments aimed at observation of high-quality EIA resonances. The results from this work can find application in quantum magnetometry and nonlinear optics.