Quantitative analysis of the deflection of a sodium beam by laser radiation

We have performed experimental and theoretical studies of the deflection of a sodium atomic beam by a laser tuned to the 3 ${\mathrm{}}^2$ $S_{1/2}$,F=2–3 ${\mathrm{}}^2$ $P_{3/2}$,F=3 transition. The intensity profile of the deflected beam was measured at different laser power levels and for different laser polarizations. Calculations using a constant force derived from a two-level atom yield deflections which are too large. The results of more realistic simulation calculations agree very well with the measured deflection. Those calculations incorporate the atomic-beam spatial and velocity distributions as well as the laser frequency distribution and polarization state. Optical pumping, loss of atoms to the nonresonant F=1 ground state, and Doppler shifting of the atoms out of resonance are all considered, as also are the statistics and angular distributions of the spontaneous photons.