Total-field atomic magnetometry using an elliptically-polarized frequency-modulated light beam for geomagnetic-field applications
Abstract
We investigate an all-optical scheme for high-sensitivity measurements of the Earth's scale magnetic field (B). The scheme is based on the Bell-Bloom technique with frequency-modulated light. A single elliptically polarized light beam is used both for pumping the alkali-metal atoms and probing Larmor precession of their spins under the external magnetic field. In contrast to many other high-sensitivity magnetometry schemes based on nonlinear polarization rotation of the light, the proposed approach enables the observation of magnetic resonance via changes in the light-beam ellipticity parameter. The approach has been validated in experiments with a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser, irradiating a $0.125$ cm3 cesium vapor cell filled with a buffer gas. In the current experimental conditions, the achieved sensitivity is estimated at $220$ fT/surdHz under B≈$50$ μT, while the shot-noise floor corresponds to ≈$20$ fT/surdHz. The bandwidth is estimated at ≈$1$ kHz. The proposed simple and robust single-beam scheme is well suited for miniaturization and is therefore particularly promising for the development of compact, highly sensitive, low-power-consumption atomic magnetometers for a wide range of applications in the geomagnetic field.
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BibTeX
@misc{brazhnikov2026totalfield,
title = {{Total-field atomic magnetometry using an elliptically-polarized frequency-modulated light beam for geomagnetic-field applications}},
author = {D. V. Brazhnikov and A. O. Makarov and K. S. Kozlova and M. A. Rusina and A. M. Mikhailov and V. A. Vasiliev and E. V. Tanakov and A. N. Goncharov and M. A. Bobrov and Ya. N. Kovach and A. A. Blokhin and N. A. Maleev and S. A. Blokhin},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.08031},
eprint = {2610.08031},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.08031},
note = {CC BY-NC-SA 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Total-field atomic magnetometry using an elliptically-polarized frequency-modulated light beam for geomagnetic-field applications
AU - D. V. Brazhnikov
AU - A. O. Makarov
AU - K. S. Kozlova
AU - M. A. Rusina
AU - A. M. Mikhailov
AU - V. A. Vasiliev
AU - E. V. Tanakov
AU - A. N. Goncharov
AU - M. A. Bobrov
AU - Ya. N. Kovach
AU - A. A. Blokhin
AU - N. A. Maleev
AU - S. A. Blokhin
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/06
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.08031
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.08031
AB - We investigate an all-optical scheme for high-sensitivity measurements of the Earth's scale magnetic field (B). The scheme is based on the Bell-Bloom technique with frequency-modulated light. A single elliptically polarized light beam is used both for pumping the alkali-metal atoms and probing Larmor precession of their spins under the external magnetic field. In contrast to many other high-sensitivity magnetometry schemes based on nonlinear polarization rotation of the light, the proposed approach enables the observation of magnetic resonance via changes in the light-beam ellipticity parameter. The approach has been validated in experiments with a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser, irradiating a $0.125$ cm^3 cesium vapor cell filled with a buffer gas. In the current experimental conditions, the achieved sensitivity is estimated at $220$ fT/surdHz under B≈$50$ μT, while the shot-noise floor corresponds to ≈$20$ fT/surdHz. The bandwidth is estimated at ≈$1$ kHz. The proposed simple and robust single-beam scheme is well suited for miniaturization and is therefore particularly promising for the development of compact, highly sensitive, low-power-consumption atomic magnetometers for a wide range of applications in the geomagnetic field.
ER -