Ai. Alekseev, TIME-REVERSAL DURING MAGNETIZATION OF GAS ATOMS BY A RESONANT LIGHT-PULSE, Journal of experimental and theoretical physics, 85(2), 1997, pp. 248-256
The optically induced magnetic moment of a stationary atom is calculat
ed as a function of time and the resonance detuning omega-omega(ba) to
within a constant factor having the dimensions of a magnetic moment b
ased on the symmetry of an atom in the field of a resonant light pulse
and symmetry with respect to time reversal including the initial cond
itions. The even dependence of the optically induced magnetic moment o
n omega-omega(ba) for an elliptically polarized pulse with an isotropi
c initial state of the atom and its odd dependence on omega-omega(ab)
in the case of a linearly polarized pulsed with an anisotropic initial
state in the atom's alignment are shown to be consequences of symmetr
y with respect to time reversal and the initial conditions. This behav
ior is retained even after passage of the light pulse, when the result
ing relaxation destroys the time reversal symmetry. The optically indu
ced magnetization of an atomic gas is found to have analogous properti
es. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.