|Sep15-12, 12:43 PM||#1| Circular polarization wrt. magnetic
field I am a little confused regarding circular polarization. I
have attached a figure in order to explain the situation I have
been thinking of: It shows (to the left) how a magnetic field
changes from being positive to being negative. The arrow
indicates my quantization axis. To the right I have sketched the
incoming EM-light, and the circle indicates that it is
circularly polarized. The direction is such that it is σ- wrt.
the quantization axis (the right hand rule). The main objective
is that I want to drive the Δm=-1 (from J=0, m=0 to J=1, m=-1)
transition of an atom moving from left ro right. But this is the
part that is troubling me: Am I allowed to just define the
quantization axis the way I have? With this definition, the only
thing that changes is the magnetic dipole moment of the atom,
and it goes from negative to positive. Am I right in all this?
Thanks for any help in advance. physics news on PhysOrg.com >>
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