Jacques Winter Created 2026-10-18 Updated 2026-11-05
An experimental atomic physicist who coauthored a 1952 report on optical pumping with Jean Brossel and Alfred Kastler. Selective absorption of light redistributes population among ground-state Zeeman effect sublevels, preparing an atomic ensemble whose magnetic-state populations differ from thermal equilibrium. This connects control of incident light to preparation and readout of atomic angular momentum.[ref]
Création optique d’une inégalité de population entre les sous-niveaux Zeeman de l’état fondamental des atomes by Jean Brossel and others. Publisher byline, title and optical-pumping classification
Jean Brossel Created 2026-10-18 Updated 2026-11-05
Jean Brossel and Alfred Kastler developed optical preparation and detection of atomic magnetic resonance. Selectively absorbed light creates unequal populations among Zeeman sublevels; a radio frequency transition redistributes those populations. The resulting change in absorption or fluorescence supplies a visible signal of the resonance. The light thus has two distinct jobs: optical pumping prepares the initial quantum state distribution, while optical detection reads out the effect of a much weaker magnetic excitation.[ref]
Création optique d’une inégalité de population entre les sous-niveaux Zeeman de l’état fondamental des atomes by Jean Brossel and others. Population preparation and optical observation of magnetic transitions
Portrait of Jean Brossel
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