Localization of atoms in a nonuniformly polarized resonant field as the result of a coherent trapping of population
Taichenachev A. V., Tumaikin A. M., Ol'shanyi M. A., Yudin V. I.
A new physical effect is predicted: a spatial localization of atoms over distances much shorter than the wavelength of the light at the caustics of nonuniformly polarized wavefronts. The transition {jg = 1, je = 1} is used as an example to discuss the spatial distribution of atoms under conditions corresponding to a coherent trapping of population in resonant fields with a nonuniform polarization and a nonuniform intensity. The density of atoms is shown to be proportional to the local energy density of the field.