Measurement of the difference between populations of the Zeeman sublevels of the 2s2–2p4 transition in neon

A direct method is proposed for the determination of the difference between the populations of the Zeeman sublevels of laser transitions. This method is based on the measurement of the difference between the widths of the frequency range of stimulated emission of opposite waves in a traveling-wave laser with a circularly anisotropic resonator. Measurements were made of the difference between the populations of the Zeeman sublevels of the 2s₂–2p₄ transition in neon. These measurements were carried out for different pressures in the working mixture as well as for the different magnetic fields and isotropic concentrations. It was found that the difference between the populations (if it existed at all) did not exceed the experimental error of 0.0015%.