Nonlinear magneto-optical rotation in calcium - theory and experiment

Theoretical and experimental studies of nonlinear magneto-optical rotation in the principal series of calcium are reported. These are believed to be the first experiments on high magnetic field Faraday rotation (defined as achieving rotation angles of the order of pi or more) in which the nonlinear optical regime has been entered by using laser fields. The present theory is valid both in the linear and nonlinear domains and our theoretical predictions which take into account propagation effects agree very well with experimental results over the entire range of laser strengths.