Spin-exchange narrowing of the atomic ground-state resonances

At the most fundamental level, the performance of atomic sensors is limited by quantum decoherence. The problem of decoherence has been addressed at low magnetic fields with atomic samples, where the limiting factor of the coherence lifetime arises from spin-exchange collisions. In this paper, we demonstrate the complex role of the collisions in the relaxation of quantum states of alkali-metal atoms. The detailed understanding of the collision role allows us to reduce the ground-state relaxation in stronger magnetic fields (tens μT). Reduction of the relaxation rate enables improvement of the performance of atomic sensors. In particular, enhancement of the sensitivity of optical magnetometers in the detection of stronger magnetic fields may be obtained. Reduced transverse relaxation also enables increasing quantum-information storage time in atomic vapor.