Free precession decay in selective reflection

A theory of free precession in selective reflection is presented. In contrast to standard theories of free precession in which transmission signals decay in a time on the order of the inverse of the inhomogeneous width, the selective reflection signal decays in a time of order of the inverse of the homogeneous width. Both short-pulse excitation and continuous-wave (cw) excitation are considered. In the case of cw excitation, it is possible to observe beating between the contributions to the signal that are first and third order in the amplitude of the excitation field.