Optical control of resonant light transmission for an atom-cavity system

Abstract

We demonstrate the manipulation of transmitted light through an optical Fabry-Pérot cavity, built around a spectroscopy cell containing enriched rubidium vapor. Light resonant with the Rb87D2 (F=2,F=1) ↔F′ manifold is controlled by the transverse intersection of the cavity mode by another resonant light beam. The cavity transmission can be suppressed or enhanced depending on the coupling of atomic states due to the intersecting beams. The extreme manifestation of the cavity-mode control is the precipitous destruction (negative logic switching) or buildup (positive logic switching) of the transmitted light intensity on intersection of the transverse control beam with the cavity mode. Both the steady-state and transient responses are experimentally investigated. The mechanism behind the change in cavity transmission is discussed in brief.