title: Narrowband tunable filter based on velocity-selective optical pumping in an atomic vapor.
abstract: We demonstrate a tunable narrowband filter based on optical-pumping-induced circular dichroism in rubidium vapor. The filter achieves a peak transmission of 14.6%, a linewidth of 80 MHz, and an out-of-band extinction of >or=35 dB. The transmission peak can be tuned within the range of the Doppler linewidth of the D1 line of atomic rubidium at 795 nm. While other atomic filters work at frequencies far from absorption, the presented technique provides light resonant with atomic media, useful for atom-photon interaction experiments. The technique could readily be extended to other alkali atoms.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, Mediterranean Technology Park, Barcelona, Spain. alessandro.cere@icfo.es
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cerè
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Parigi
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abad
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wolfgramm
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Predojević
authors.forename: Morgan W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Mitchell