RESONANCE FLUORESCENCE FROM QUANTIZED ONE-DIMENSIONAL MOLASSES

We study theoretically the spectrum of resonance fluoresence from one-dimensional molasses consisting of two-level atoms with Zeeman substructure. The center-of-mass motion of the atom is treated fully quantum mechanically. The spectrum shows sidebands due to transitions between vibrational levels in optical potentials generated by the laser light. Detailed results are presented for the J(g) = 1/2 --> J(e) = 3/2 atomic transition in a laser configuration with two counterpropagating waves with orthogonal polarizations. We have solved the corresponding quantum master equation and calculated the relevant autocorrelation function of the atomic dipole using (i) a direct numerical solution of the master equation, (ii) a wave-function simulation of the master equation and correlation function employing periodic time-dependent Bloch wave functions, and (iii) a semiclassical bipotential calculation for the spectrum including a simple quantum correction.