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arXiv:1709.00144 · New Journal of Physics

Transition from electromagnetically induced transparency to Autler–Townes splitting in cold cesium atoms

Liping Hao, Yuechun Jiao, Yongmei Xue, Xiaoxuan Han, Suying Bai, Jianming Zhao, Georg A. Raithel

Published Jul 5, 2018• 44 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) and Autler–Townes splitting (ATS) are two similar yet distinct phenomena that modify the transmission of a weak probe field through an absorption medium in the presence of a coupling field, featured in a variety of three-level atomic systems. In many applications it is important to distinguish EIT from ATS splitting. We present EIT and ATS spectra in a three-level cascade system, involving cold cesium atoms in the Rydberg state. The EIT linewidth, γ EIT , defined as the full width at half maximum of the transparency window, and the ATS splitting, γ ATS , defined as the peak-to-peak distance between AT absorption peaks, are used to delineate the EIT and ATS regimes and to characterize the transition between the regimes. In the cold-atom medium, in the weak-coupler (EIT) regime γ EIT ≈ A + B ( + , where Ω c and Ω p are the coupler and probe Rabi frequencies, Γ eg is the spontaneous decay rate of the intermediate 6P 3/2 level, and parameters A and B that depend on the laser linewidth. We explore the transition into the strong-coupler (ATS) regime, which is characterized by the relation γ ATS ≈ Ω c . The experiments are in agreement with numerical solutions of the Master equation. Our analysis accounts for non-ideal conditions that exist in typical realizations of Rydberg-EIT, including laser-frequency jitter, Doppler mismatch of the utilized two-color Rydberg EIT system, and strong probe fields. The obtained criteria to distinguish cold-atom EIT from ATS are readily accessible and applicable in practical implementations.

DOI
10.1088/1367-2630/aad153

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Electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) and Autler–Townes splitting (ATS) are two similar yet distinct phenomena that modify the transmission of a weak probe field through an absorption medium in the presence of a coupling field, featured in a variety of three-level atomic systems. In many applications it is important to distinguish EIT from ATS splitting. We present EIT and ATS spectra in a three-level cascade system, involving cold cesium atoms in the Rydberg state. The EIT linewidth, γ EIT , defined as the full width at half maximum of the transparency window, and the ATS splitting, γ ATS , defined as the peak-to-peak distance between AT absorption peaks, are used to delineate the EIT and ATS regimes and to characterize the transition between the regimes. In the cold-atom medium, in the weak-coupler (EIT) regime γ EIT ≈ A + B ( + , where Ω c and Ω p are the coupler and probe Rabi frequencies, Γ eg is the spontaneous decay rate of the intermediate 6P 3/2 level, and parameters A and B that depend on the laser linewidth. We explore the transition into the strong-coupler (ATS) regime, which is characterized by the relation γ ATS ≈ Ω c . The experiments are in agreement with numerical solutions of the Master equation. Our analysis accounts for non-ideal conditions that exist in typical realizations of Rydberg-EIT, including laser-frequency jitter, Doppler mismatch of the utilized two-color Rydberg EIT system, and strong probe fields. The obtained criteria to distinguish cold-atom EIT from ATS are readily accessible and applicable in practical implementations.
Electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) and Autler-Townes splitting (ATS) are two similar quantum coherent phenomena but have different mechanisms and applications. Akaike information criteria (AIC), an objective method to discriminate EIT and ATS from an experimental viewpoint, has been employed in a variety of systems. Here we use AIC method to quantitively discriminate a series of spectra of cold atoms in a Rydberg-involved upper-driving ladder-type. The derived weights of EIT and ATS reflect that our spectra change from EIT-ATS intermediate region to ATS-dominated region along Rabi frequency of coupling field increases. We find that there are two factors affecting EIT-ATS weights in a Rydberg-involved three-level system: dephasing rate, induced by the interactions among Rydberg atoms, makes the EIT-ATS crossover move to the direction of low Rabi frequency of coupling field and the experimental noise makes the difference between EIT and ATS weights reduce at elsewhere. Our investigation could provide a meaningful reference for the observations and applications of Rydberg-involved quantum coherent spectroscopy.
Abstract We utilize an electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) of a three-level cascade system involving Rydberg state in a room-temperature cell, formed with a cesium 6S1/2–6P3/2–66S1/2 scheme, to investigate the Autler–Townes (AT) splitting resulting from a 15.21-GHz radio-frequency (RF) field that couples the | 66 S 1 / 2 〉 → | 65 P 1 / 2 〉 Rydberg transition. The radio-frequency electric field induced AT splitting, γ AT, is defined as the peak-to-peak distance of an EIT-AT spectrum. The dependence of AT splitting γ AT on the probe and coupling Rabi frequency, Ωp and Ωc, is investigated. It is found that the EIT-AT splitting strongly depends on the EIT linewidth that is related to the probe and coupling Rabi frequency in a weak RF-field regime. Using a narrow linewidth EIT spectrum would decrease the uncertainty of the RF field measurements. This work provides new experimental evidence for the theoretical framework in [J. Appl. Phys. 121, 233106 (2017)].
Summary form only given. If in general the transparency of an initially absorbing medium for a probe field is increased by the presence of a control field on an adjacent transition, two very different processes can be invoked to explain it. One of them is a quantum Fano interference between two paths in the three-level system, which occurs even at low control intensity and gives rise to electromagnetically-induced transparency (EIT), the other one is the appearance of two dressed states in the excited level at higher control intensity, corresponding to the Autler-Townes splitting (ATS). This distinction is particularly critical for instance for the implementation of slow light or optical quantum memories. In a recent paper, P. M. Anisimov, J. P. Dowling and B. C. Sanders proposed a quantitative test to objectively discerning ATS from EIT. We experimentally investigated this test with cold atoms and demonstrated that it is very sensitive to the specific properties of the medium. In this study, we use an ensemble of cold Cesium atoms trapped in a MOT, interacting with light via a Λ-type scheme on the D2 line. Absorption profiles are obtained for various values of the control Rabi frequency Ω between 0.1Γ and 4Γ, where Γ is the natural linewidth.
Two phenomena can affect the transmission of a probe field through an absorbing medium in the presence of an additional field: electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) and Autler-Townes splitting (ATS). Being able to discriminate between the two is important for various practical applications. Here we present an experimental investigation into a method that allows for such a disambiguation as proposed by Anisimov, Dowling, and Sanders in Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 163604 (2011). We apply the proposed test based on Akaike's information criterion to a coherently driven ensemble of cold cesium atoms and find a good agreement with theoretical predictions, therefore demonstrating the suitability of the method. Beyond the applicability of the test, our results demonstrate that the transition features are highly sensitive to the properties of the medium under study, potentially providing a practical characterizing tool for complex systems.
An electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) of a cascade-three-level atom involving Rydberg level in a room-temperature cell, formed with a cesium 6S 1 / 2-6P 3 / 2-66 S 1 / 2 scheme, is employed to detect the Autler-Townes (AT) splitting resulted with a 15.21-GHz microwave field coupling the 66 S 1 / 2 → 65 P 1 / 2 transition. Microwave field induced AT splitting, f A T, is characterized by the distance of peak-to-peak of an EIT-AT spectrum. The f A T dependence on the microwave Rabi frequency, Ω M W , demonstrates two regions, the strong-coupling linear region, f A T ≈ Ω M W and the weak-coupling nonlinear region, f A T ≲ Ω M W. The f A T dependencies on the probe and coupling Rabi frequency are also investigated. Using small probe- and coupling-laser, the Rabi frequency is found to enlarge the linear regime and decrease the uncertainty of the microwave field measurements. The measurements agree with the calculations based on a four-level atomic model.
We demonstrate the three-photon Autler-Townes (AT) spectroscopy in a cold cesium Rydberg four-level atom by detecting the field ionized Rydberg population. The ground state |6S1/2〉, two intermediate states |6P3/2〉 and |7S1/2〉 and Rydberg state |60P3/2〉 form a cascade four-level atomic system. The three-photon AT spectra and AT splittings are characterized by the Rabi frequency Ω852 and Ω1470 and detuning δ852 of the coupling lasers. Due to the interaction of two coupling lasers with the atoms, the AT spectrum has three peaks denoted with the letters A, B and C. Positions of the peaks and relative AT splittings, γAB and γBC, strongly depend on two coupling lasers. The dependence of the AT splitting, γAB and γBC, on the coupling laser detuning, δ852, and Rabi frequency, Ω852 and Ω1470 are investigated. It is found that the AT splitting γAB mainly comes from the first photon coupling, whereas the γBC mainly comes from the second photon coupling with the atom. The three-photon AT spectra and relevant AT splittings are simulated with the four-level density matrix equation and show good agreement with the theoretical simulations considering the spectral line broadening. Our work is of great significance both for further understanding the interaction between the laser and the atom, and for the application of the Rydberg atom based field measurement.