Interests
My research focuses on the spin of atoms, or equivalently on the magnetic dipole moments of these atoms. The direction of an alkali atom (I use rubidium) can be changed by using a polarized laser to provide the angular momentum, a process called optical pumping. Once the rubidium spins are aligned, it is possible to transfer the spin to a different species such as neon, or even to a free electron.
There are a huge number of applications of this process, stretching from medical physics to elementary particle physics. My present interests are focused on several specific applications
Generating Polarized Electrons (in collaboration with the group of
Dr. Tim Gay
at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln)
Decay of Rb polarization at coated steel surfaces
Studies of radiation trapping
Noble gas masers to look for fundamental symmetry violation
I also have an on-going collaboration with Dr. Brian Stewart of Wesleyan University studying the collisional properties of lithium atoms and dimers. More on this soon.
Prior Work
Undergraduate Thesis: Doppler-Free Two-Photon Studies in the Lithium Atom
Advisor: Brian Stewart
Abstract: I measured the effects of pressure broadening on lithium atoms due to several noble gases and compared the results to theory. I used two-photon absorption techniques to remove the Doppler broadening so that the much smaller pressure broadening could be discerned.
Graduate Thesis: A Precision Measurement of the 129Xe Electric Dipole Moment Using Dual Noble Gas Masers
Advisor: Timothy Chupp
Abstract: I constructed an apparatus to produce helium and xenon masers through optical pumping of rubidium, and the use of resonant coil circuits. I then made an extremely sensitive measurement of the xenon electric dipole moment while using the helium as an in situ magnetometer. The size of the atomic EDM sets important limits on the CP-violating parameters of many extensions of the Standard Model.
Refereed Publications since 2003
M.A. Rosenberry, J.P. Reyes, D. Tupa, and T.J. Gay, “A study of radiation trapping in rubidium optical pumping at low buffer gas pressures”, Phys. Rev. A 75, 023401 (2007)
M. Rosenberry, K. Burgess, and Brian Stewart, “Noble gas pressure broadening of 7Li 2s-3s transition”, J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 40 No 1 (14 January 2007) 177-186
T. J. Gay, J. D. Bozek, J. E. Furst, G. A. Gallup, A. S. Green, A. L. D. Kilcoyne, J.R. Machacek, J. W. Maseberg, K. W. McLaughlin, and M. A. Rosenberry, “Angular Momentum Partitioning in the Dissociation of Diatomic Molecules” AIP Conf. Proc. 811, 108 (2006)
H. Gao, M. Rosenberry, J. Wang, H. Batelann, “Experimental studies of light propagation and storage in warm atomic gases”, J. Phys. B 38 1857-66 (2005)
A.S. Green, G.A. Gallup, M.A. Rosenberry, and T.J. Gay, “Spin-exchange-induced circularly polarized molecular fluorescence”, Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 093102 (2004)
H. Gao, M. Rosenberry, and H. Batelann, “Light storage with light of arbitrary polarization”, Phys. Rev. A 67, 053807 (2003)
A.S. Green, M.A. Rosenberry, T.J.Gay, “An inline optical polarimeter”, 15th International Spin Physics Symposium, ed. Y. Makdisi, AIP Conf. Proc. 675, 1034 (2003)