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arXiv:2206.12305 · Physical Review A

Three-laser coherent population trapping in a multi- Λ system: Theory, experiment, and applications

Nicolás A. Nuñez Barreto, Martín Drechsler, Christian Tomás Schmiegelow

Published Nov 14, 2022• 6 citations
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Abstract

We present theoretical and experimental results of coherent population trapping spectra on a multilevel $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}$-type configuration, adding a third beam to the standard two-laser $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}$ system to avoid undesired optical pumping. We show that the extra laser can preserve the nature of the dark resonances or introduce decoherence depending on its power. Experiments are carried out using a single trapped $^{40}\mathrm{Ca}^{+}$ ion in the ${S}_{1/2}\text{\ensuremath{-}}{P}_{1/2}\text{\ensuremath{-}}{D}_{3/2}$ manifold. Theoretically, the problem is solved with a Floquet-type expansion of the Liouvillian that correctly predicts all of the measured spectra without the need of full time integration. As a first application of the multilaser technique, we show that the richer spectra obtained can be used as a vectorial polarimeter of one of the beams, allowing one to measure the electrical field at the ion's position in any spatial direction. We also explain how our setup could realize a thermometer with tunable sensitivity and no laser-linewidth dependence.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.106.053708

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Physical Review A•Feb 1, 1996•95 citations
We present theoretical and experimental results of coherent population trapping spectra on a multilevel \ensuremathΛ\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}\ensuremathΛ-type configuration, adding a third beam to the standard two-laser \ensuremathΛ\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}\ensuremathΛ system to avoid undesired optical pumping. We show that the extra laser can preserve the nature of the dark resonances or introduce decoherence depending on its power. Experiments are carried out using a single trapped 40Ca+^{40}\mathrm{Ca}^{+}40Ca+ ion in the S1/2\ensuremath-P1/2\ensuremath-D3/2{S}_{1/2}\text{\ensuremath{-}}{P}_{1/2}\text{\ensuremath{-}}{D}_{3/2}S1/2​\ensuremath-P1/2​\ensuremath-D3/2​ manifold. Theoretically, the problem is solved with a Floquet-type expansion of the Liouvillian that correctly predicts all of the measured spectra without the need of full time integration. As a first application of the multilaser technique, we show that the richer spectra obtained can be used as a vectorial polarimeter of one of the beams, allowing one to measure the electrical field at the ion's position in any spatial direction. We also explain how our setup could realize a thermometer with tunable sensitivity and no laser-linewidth dependence.
The authors significantly extend the optical technique of coherent population trapping (CPT) using three photons, based on a dark resonance of trapped Ca+{}^{+}+ ions. CPT with three photons is an important approach for high-precision measurements, as it opens up the use of large ensembles of trapped ions, rather than individual atoms. Furthermore, an atomic terahertz frequency reference based on three visible lasers can be derived from this technique. Terahertz spectroscopy is a rapidly growing field with a host of applications, and recent studies point to a clear need for frequency standards in this range.
We report our study on coherent population trapping (CPT) in a $\ensuremath{\Lambda}$ configuration coupled by magnetic dipole interactions. The $\ensuremath{\Lambda}$ configuration is formed by bichromatic radio-frequency fields coupling a pair of Zeeman sublevels in one hyperfine level of an alkali-metal atom to another sublevel in the other hyperfine level. The Zeeman sublevel at the apex is coupled to a state in the nPnPnP manifold via an optical transition on one of the spectroscopic DDD lines to induce optical pumping to a dark state. The configuration is closed without leakage to other Zeeman sublevels. We use lithium atoms in an optical trap for our experimental study. The system allows independent control of the main parameters characterizing CPT, which include the upper-state decay rate and the decoherence rate as well as the Rabi frequencies. By turning off the applied fields, the system is frozen so that its quantum state can be measured precisely. We studied the line shapes and dynamics of the CPT system, and measured the phase relation of the dark superposition state to find excellent agreement with theory. The possible application of the scheme as a method to cool optically trapped atoms below the recoil limit in a manner analogous to velocity-selective coherent population trapping is discussed.
We report an experimental study of coherent population trapping and four-wave mixing via multilevel dark states prepared in the ground hyperfine states of 87Rb{}^{87}\mathrm{Rb}87Rb atoms. The dark states are created by \ensuremath{\Lambda}-type coupling chains driven by a linearly polarized pump laser tuned to the D1{D}_{1}D1​ $F=2\ensuremath{\leftrightarrow}{F}^{\ensuremath{'}}=1$ transition. The Doppler shift in the coupling chains is compensated by the left- and right-circularly polarized components of the pump laser. The multilevel dark states are explored by a probe laser and their existence is manifested by a strong dependence of the probe excitation and four-wave-mixing emission on the probe polarization. Our experiment shows that coherent population trapping in multilevel dark states of a degenerate atomic system should be useful in the coherence control of optical nonlinearity.
We report an experimental observation of coherent population trapping in multilevel dark states prepared in the ground hyperfine states of 87Rb{}^{87}\mathrm{Rb}87Rb atoms confined in a room-temperature vapor cell. The dark states are created by a linearly polarized coupling laser that is tuned to the 87Rb{}^{87}\mathrm{Rb}87Rb D1{D}_{1}D1​ $F=2\ensuremath{\leftrightarrow}{F}^{\ensuremath{'}}=1$ or 2 transition and establishes \ensuremath{\Lambda}-type transition chains. The Doppler shift for the \ensuremath{\Lambda}-type transition chains is compensated by the left and right circularly polarized components of the coupling laser. The multilevel dark states that consist of three or two magnetic sublevels among the five degenerate magnetic sublevels in the F=2F=2F=2 ground hyperfine state are probed by a weak probe laser scanned across the same D1{D}_{1}D1​ transition and their existence is manifested by a strong dependence of the probe excitation on the probe polarization. Our experiment demonstrates the importance of coherent population trapping in a laser coupled degenerate multilevel open atomic system, which may play an important role in diverse physical phenomena such as atom cooling and trapping, optical pumping, and multiple laser excitation and ionization of atoms and molecules.
The possibility of coherent population trapping in two electron states with aligned spins (orthosystem) is evidenced. From the analysis of a three-level atomic system containing two electrons, and driven by the two laser fields needed for coherent population trapping, a conceptually new kind of dark state appears. The properties of this trapping are physically interpreted in terms of a dark hole, instead of a dark two-electron state. This technique, among many other applications, offers the possibility of measuring, with subnatural resolution, some superposition-state matrix elements of the electron-electron correlation that due to their time dependent nature are inaccessible by standard measuring procedures.
We present a general formalism for studying the interaction between laser fields and degenerate-Zeeman-sublevel atoms correct up to the first order in the weak probe field. We derive from this theory the equations of motion for a \ensuremath{\Lambda}-type system involving S1/2{\mathit{S}}_{1/2}S1/2​, F=2\ensuremath{\leftrightarrows}P1/2{\mathit{P}}_{1/2}P1/2​, F\ensuremath{'}=1\ensuremath{\leftrightarrows}S1/2{\mathit{S}}_{1/2}S1/2​, F=1 transitions in 87Rb^{87}\mathrm{Rb}87Rb atoms. These equations are used to numerically investigate the coherent population trapping (CPT) schemes in the S1/2{\mathit{S}}_{1/2}S1/2​, F=2\ensuremath{\leftrightarrows}P1/2{\mathit{P}}_{1/2}P1/2​, F\ensuremath{'}=1 transition induced by a linearly polarized pumping field and the electromagnetically induced transparency exhibited in the weak probe spectrum in the S1/2{\mathit{S}}_{1/2}S1/2​, F=1\ensuremath{\leftrightarrows}P1/2{\mathit{P}}_{1/2}P1/2​, F\ensuremath{'}=1 transition. We discuss the effects of the CPT on the probe spectrum with and without the Doppler broadenings by comparing the probe spectrum derived from the real system with that derived from an ideal \ensuremath{\Lambda}-type system. We show that the atoms in the CPT states are shielded from interacting with the probe field while those in the absorbent states make contributions to the weak probe by the Raman anti-Stokes process, and the effect of the real system on the probe field becomes equivalent to the ideal \ensuremath{\Lambda} system only in the strong CPT parameter regime. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.