title: Coherent control of angular momentum transfer in resonant two-photon light-matter interaction.
abstract: We show experimentally and theoretically that a polarization-shaped femtosecond laser pulse with a zero net angular momentum creates a net angular momentum in atomic rubidium during resonant two-photon excitation. The necessary conditions for the creation of a nonzero angular momentum as well as the excitation efficiencies are analyzed in the framework of second-order time-dependent perturbation theory.
authors.affiliation: Radboud University Nijmegen, Institute for Molecules and Materials, P.O. Box 9010, NL-6500 GL Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Malik
authors.forename: A V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Kimel
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kirilyuk
authors.forename: Th
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rasing
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: van der Zande