MAGNETOROTATION AND MAGNETIC CIRCULAR-DICHROISM OF CESIUM ATOMS NEAR A DIELECTRIC SURFACE

The magneto-optical properties of cesium vapor near a glass surface have been studied by using selective reflection. We have observed sub-Doppler structures in the magneto-rotation and magnetic circular dichroism spectra. The spectral narrowing can be explained by the transient polarization behavior of cesium atoms due to wall collisions. A simple model, which takes atom-wall collisions and the mixing of hyperfine levels by the magnetic field into account, gives a good qualitative description of the observed spectra. Small discrepancies are likely to be due to long-range atom-surface interactions.