Optical rotation in excess of 100 rad generated by Rb vapor in a multipass cell

Abstract

Paramagnetic Faraday rotation is a powerful technique for atom sensing widely used in quantum nondemolition measurements, fundamental symmetry tests, and other precision measurements. We demonstrate the use of a multipass optical cell for Faraday rotation spectroscopy and observe polarization rotation in excess of 100 rad from spin-polarized Rb vapor. Unlike optical cavities, multipass cells have a deterministic number of light passes and can be used to measure large optical rotations. We also observe a tenfold suppression of transverse spin relaxation when Rb atoms are placed in a coherent superposition state immune to spin-exchange collisions.