Drift of optically active atoms in a buffer gas induced by an incident light field is a consequence of the unequal diffusive frictions suffered by the excited and the ground-state atoms. We investigate this light-induced drift in the presence of a magnetic field in a direction perpendicular to the incident light, which gives rise to an interesting effect, appropriately called the “optical Hall effect.”

• Received 27 September 1999

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.61.025402