{"ID":23673048,"CreatedAt":"2026-09-18T08:32:08.518820066Z","UpdatedAt":"2026-09-18T08:32:08.518820066Z","DeletedAt":null,"paper_url":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.20741","arxiv_id":"2609.20741","title":"Effective Conservation and Bistability of Atomic Alignment under Strong Spin~Exchange","abstract":"We present a phenomenological model of anomalous alignment signals in dense cesium vapor under linearly polarized pumping and fast spin exchange near zero magnetic field. Despite the absence of a conservation law for rank-2 angular momentum, our recent experiments reveal anisotropic narrow resonances, hysteresis, and bistability. We attribute these effects to a stretched state forming a collective mode in which orientation and alignment are bidirectionally coupled. This mode acts as a reservoir, preserving the essential properties of alignment despite rapid spin exchange.","short_abstract":"We present a phenomenological model of anomalous alignment signals in dense cesium vapor under linearly polarized pumping and fast spin exchange near zero magnetic field. Despite the absence of a conservation law for rank-2 angular momentum, our recent experiments reveal anisotropic narrow resonances, hysteresis, and b...","url_abs":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.20741","url_pdf":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/2609.20741v1","authors":"[\"Anton K. Vershovskii\"]","published":"2026-09-17T17:26:59Z","proceeding":"physics.atom-ph","tasks":"[\"physics.atom-ph\"]","methods":"[]","has_code":false}