Zeeman absorption measurements of two‐dimensional magnetic field structures (abstract)a)

A diagnostic technique is presented where polarization measurements of transmitted resonant laser light are used to determine the two‐dimensional magnetic field profiles in a plasma. The diagnostic laser is propagated parallel to the magnetic field direction and resonant with circularly polarized transitions. Tuning the laser slightly off‐resonance results in differing absorption coefficients for right and left circularly polarized light. Analysis of the transmitted light, combined with independent measurements of the resonant line profile, results in a measurement of the magnetic field. Spectral analysis of the Zeeman splitting has been commonly used to measure plasma magnetic fields, both in emission and absorption. The intensity comparison of the right and left circular components to measure relatively small magnetic fields has its origins in the astrophysics community. Here, the intensity comparison technique is used in conjunction with resonant absorption, and the information is stored using a high‐s...