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Observation of the Faraday effect via beam deflection in a longitudinal magnetic field
We show that magnetic-field-induced circular differential deflection of light can be observed in reflection or refraction at a single interface. The difference in the reflection or refraction angles between the two circular polarization components is a function of the magnetic-field strength and the Verdet constant, and permits the observation of the Faraday effect not via polarization rotation in transmission, but via changes in the propagation direction. Deflection measurements do not suffer from n-pi ambiguities and are shown to be another means to map magnetic fields with high axial resolution, or to determine the sign and magnitude of magnetic-field pulses in a single measurement.
@article{ISI:000251326400191, title = {Observation of the Faraday effect via beam deflection in a longitudinal magnetic field}, journal = {PHYSICAL REVIEW A}, abstract = {We show that magnetic-field-induced circular differential deflection of light can be observed in reflection or refraction at a single interface. The difference in the reflection or refraction angles between the two circular polarization components is a function of the magnetic-field strength and the Verdet constant, and permits the observation of the Faraday effect not via polarization rotation in transmission, but via changes in the propagation direction. Deflection measurements do not suffer from n-pi ambiguities and are shown to be another means to map magnetic fields with high axial resolution, or to determine the sign and magnitude of magnetic-field pulses in a single measurement.}, volume = {76}, number = {5}, year = {2007}, slug = {isi-000251326400191}, author = {Ghosh, Ambarish and Hill, Winfield and Fischer, Peer} }