Coherent magneto-optical resonances in hot potassium vapor

In this communication, we present experimental results on the preparation of magneto-optical resonances in potassium. The magneto-optical resonances are registered in Hanle configuration, i.e. monitoring the atomic fluorescence vs the applied magnetic field scanned around zero value. The excitation of the second resonance line with a wavelength of 404.4 nm leads both to direct fluorescence at 404.4 nm and to a cascade decay with fluorescence at 770.1 nm and 764.5 nm (first resonance line transitions). This transfer is evidenced by the registration of a narrow magneto-optical resonance in the fluorescence. It should also be noted that even after multiple cascade transitions, the resonance observed on the infrared lines has a much better signal/noise ratio compared to that on the excited second resonance line. Therefore, the study of these sub-Doppler-width magneto-optical resonances in hot potassium vapor will be useful for the further development of high-resolution magneto-optical laser spectroscopy. (paper)