Laser production of polarized alkali vapors.

Methods of laser optical pumping suitable for producing polarized nuclei for targets in nuclear structure physics experiments have been developed in the past few years. Theory and experiment are most advanced for the alkalis though many of the results obtained are more generally applicable. In any case the alkalis are important for several specific experiments, and spin exchange with polarized alkali atoms has been proposed as a general method for the production of polarized nuclei of any Z. In this paper the relevant theory for producing dense highly polarized alkali vapors is reviewed.