New method for polarizing complicated atoms

In the optical pumping process, spontaneous emission plays a unique role in redistributing the population of the ground level among the magnetic sub-l evels. It is clear that the branching ratio of the relevant transition in t he optical pumping must be nearly equal to unity in order to avoid the loss of population involved. Unfortunately, most complicated atoms do not have a simple energy level structure and cannot be polarized using optical pumpi ng. We propose here a new polarizing method of a purely laser-driven proces s that avoids spontaneous emission and can be used in many heavier atoms. F or J = 0 ground-state atoms, a complete population transfer to the meta-sta ble state can be used as efficient laser isotope separation, whereas a cohe rently prepared superposition state of the non-magnetic ground state and on e of the magnetic states of the meta-stable level can be used as a tool to study the decoherent process. For J of the ground level no less than unity, partly removing the population on one of its sub-magnetic states will enha nce the magnetic resonance signal significantly.