© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

Terms Privacy Legal Notice

arXiv:2501.03188 · Journal of Physics Communications

Tunable absorption spectrum splitting in a pulse-driven three-level system

Jiawei Wang, Anthony Gullo, K. Velmurugan, Herbert F. Fotso

Published Jan 1, 2026• 0 citations

Abstract

Abstract When a two-level system is driven on resonance by a strong incident field, its emission spectrum is characterized by the well-known Mollow triplet. If the absorption from the excited state, in this continuously driven two-level system, to a third, higher energy level, is probed by a weak field, the resulting absorption spectrum features the Autler-Townes doublet with two peaks separated by the Rabi frequency of the strong driving field. It has been shown that when the two-level system is instead driven by a periodic pulse sequence, the emission spectrum obtained has similarities with the Mollow triplet even though the system is only driven during the short application time of the pulses and is allowed to evolve freely between pulses. Here, we evaluate the absorption spectrum of the three-level system in the ladder/cascade configuration when the bottom two levels are driven by a periodic pulse sequence while the transition between the middle and the highest level is probed by a weak field. The absorption spectrum displays similarities with the Autler-Townes doublet with frequency separation between the main peaks defined by the inter-pulse delay. In addition, this spectrum shows little dependence on the pulse carrier frequency. These results demonstrate the capacity to modulate the absorption spectrum of a three-level system with experimentally achievable pulse protocols.

DOI: 10.1088/2399-6528/ae393c

Related papers

AC Stark splitting of a three-level system driven by two strong fields

C. Wei, Neil B. Manson

Summary form only given.It is well known that a strongly driven transition exhibits a doublet splitting when probed by a weak field, commonly known as AC Stark splitting. It can be observed either by probing the driven two-level itself (Mollow-type spectrum) or via a third level (Autler-Townes-type spectrum). These two type splittings can have very different characteristics, particularly when driven resonantly. The absorptive Mollow spectrum consists of two dispersion-like features, whereas for the Autler-Townes spectrum there is a simple doublet splitting. In this paper we report the observation of both Mollow and Autler-Townes spectrum simultaneously by applying two strong driving fields in a three-level configuration.

Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics•Nov 27, 2002•0 citations

Strongly driven Stark coupled three-level systems and transitions at the Rabi frequency

Bryan J. Dalton, M. J. Gagen

Calculations based on a full master equation approach have been made of the absorption spectrum for a certain three-level system in which two states mod 2), mod 1) are strongly driven by a near resonant monochromatic laser field whose Rabi frequency is large compared with the natural lifetime width of mod 2). A third state mod 3) is coupled to the nearby state mod 2) by a static electric field. As the static field coupling increases the spectrum in the neighbourhood of the laser frequency changes from the partly emissive, partly absorptive Mollow form to an absorptive spectrum with two strong peaks. Also, the spectrum in the neighbourhood of the upper level transition frequency changes from an Autler-Townes doublet to a spectrum where a new emissive line appears at the Rabi frequency. In terms of the dressed atom model, this transition corresponds to an intradoublet transition previously forbidden in two-level atoms, though predicted to occur in certain two-level molecular systems. The spectrum is interpreted in terms of a dressed atom model. In general terms not only do the dressed atom transition frequencies correlate well with the spectral features, but there is also good agreement between the heights and widths of the spectral features and those obtained from the full master equation approach. The importance of using the full dipole operator in the basic definitions of the spectral quantities is also demonstrated.

Journal of Physics B Atomic and Molecular Physics•Nov 28, 1985•12 citations

Absorption spectrum of a strongly driven atom in a detuned squeezed vacuum

M. Bosticky, Z. Ficek, Bryan J. Dalton

We present numerical and analytical results for the Mollow probe absorption spectrum of a coherently driven two-level system in a narrow bandwidth squeezed vacuum field. The spectra are calculated for the case where the Rabi frequency of the driving field is much larger than the natural linewidth and the squeezed vacuum carrier frequency is detuned from the driving laser frequency. The driving laser is on resonance. We show that in a detuned squeezed vacuum the standard Mollow features are each split into triplets. The central components of each triplet are weakly dependent on the squeezing phase but the sidebands strongly depend on the phase and can have dispersive or absorptive/emissive profiles. We also derive approximate analytical expressions for the spectral features and find that the multi-peak structure of the spectrum can be interpreted either via the eigenfrequencies of a generalized Floquet Hamiltonian or in terms of three-photon transitions between dressed states involving a probe field photon and a correlated photon pair from the squeezed vacuum field.

Journal of Optics B Quantum and Semiclassical Optics•Aug 1, 1999•1 citation

Resonance fluorescence and Autler-Townes spectra of a two-level atom driven by two fieldsof equal frequencies

Helen S. Freedhoff, Z. Ficek

We study the effects of driving a two-level atom by two intense field modes that have equal frequencies but are otherwise distinguishable; the intensity of one mode is also assumed to be greater than that of the other. We calculate first the dressed states of the system, and then its resonance fluorescence and Autler-Townes absorption spectra. We find that the energy spectrum of the doubly dressed atom consists of a ladder of doublet continua. These continua manifest themselves in the fluorescence spectrum, where they produce continua at the positions of the Mollow sideband frequencies ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\omega}}}_{\mathrm{L}}$ \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}2\ensuremath{\Omega} of the strong field, and in the Autler-Townes absorption spectrum, which becomes a two-continuum doublet.

Physical Review A•Feb 1, 1997•20 citations

Absorption spectrum of a two-level system subjected to a periodic pulse sequence

Herbert F. Fotso, V. V. Dobrovitski

We investigate how the quantum control of a two-level system (TLS) coupled to photons can modify and tune the TLS's photon absorption spectrum. Tuning and controlling the emission and the absorption are of great interest, e.g., for the development of efficient interfaces between stationary and flying qubits in modern architectures for quantum computation and quantum communication. We consider periodic pulse control, where the TLS is subjected to a periodic sequence of the near-resonant Rabi driving pulses, each pulse implementing a ${180}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}$ rotation. For small interpulse delays, the absorption spectrum features a pronounced peak of stimulated emission at the pulse frequency, similar satellite peaks with smaller spectral weights, and the net absorption peaks on the sides. As long as the detuning between the carrier frequency of the driving and the TLS transition frequency remains moderate, this spectral shape shows little change. Therefore, the pulse control allows shifting the absorption peak to a desired position and locks the overall absorption spectrum to the carrier frequency of the driving pulses. A detailed description of the spectrum and its evolution as a function time, the interpulse spacing, and the detuning is presented.

arXiv:1701.07865•Physical review. B./Physical review. B•Jun 1, 2017•10 citations

Driving the driven atom: Spectral signatures

Chung‐Chieh Yu, Jason R. Bochinski, T. M. V. Kordich +2 more

We have measured the emission spectrum of two-level-like Ba atoms driven by a continuous-wave bichromatic field containing a strong resonant component and a weaker component detuned from atomic resonance by the strong-field Rabi frequency. With the specified detuning, the weak field resonantly drives a transition of the atom--strong-field dressed states. Observed spectra show that each peak of the normal (single-driving-field) resonance fluorescence triplet is split into three subpeaks separated by one-half the weak-field Rabi frequency. Also seen is another triplet of peaks displaced from the atomic resonance by twice the strong-field Rabi frequency. Splitting of the normal triplet peaks can be explained through weak-field dressing of the strong-field dressed states. The origin of the additional triplet is less transparent. Comparison with theory is made.

Physical Review A•Dec 1, 1997•52 citations

Abstract When a two-level system is driven on resonance by a strong incident field, its emission spectrum is characterized by the well-known Mollow triplet. If the absorption from the excited state, in this continuously driven two-level system, to a third, higher energy level, is probed by a weak field, the resulting absorption spectrum features the Autler-Townes doublet with two peaks separated by the Rabi frequency of the strong driving field. It has been shown that when the two-level system is instead driven by a periodic pulse sequence, the emission spectrum obtained has similarities with the Mollow triplet even though the system is only driven during the short application time of the pulses and is allowed to evolve freely between pulses. Here, we evaluate the absorption spectrum of the three-level system in the ladder/cascade configuration when the bottom two levels are driven by a periodic pulse sequence while the transition between the middle and the highest level is probed by a weak field. The absorption spectrum displays similarities with the Autler-Townes doublet with frequency separation between the main peaks defined by the inter-pulse delay. In addition, this spectrum shows little dependence on the pulse carrier frequency. These results demonstrate the capacity to modulate the absorption spectrum of a three-level system with experimentally achievable pulse protocols.

Summary form only given.It is well known that a strongly driven transition exhibits a doublet splitting when probed by a weak field, commonly known as AC Stark splitting. It can be observed either by probing the driven two-level itself (Mollow-type spectrum) or via a third level (Autler-Townes-type spectrum). These two type splittings can have very different characteristics, particularly when driven resonantly. The absorptive Mollow spectrum consists of two dispersion-like features, whereas for the Autler-Townes spectrum there is a simple doublet splitting. In this paper we report the observation of both Mollow and Autler-Townes spectrum simultaneously by applying two strong driving fields in a three-level configuration.

Calculations based on a full master equation approach have been made of the absorption spectrum for a certain three-level system in which two states mod 2), mod 1) are strongly driven by a near resonant monochromatic laser field whose Rabi frequency is large compared with the natural lifetime width of mod 2). A third state mod 3) is coupled to the nearby state mod 2) by a static electric field. As the static field coupling increases the spectrum in the neighbourhood of the laser frequency changes from the partly emissive, partly absorptive Mollow form to an absorptive spectrum with two strong peaks. Also, the spectrum in the neighbourhood of the upper level transition frequency changes from an Autler-Townes doublet to a spectrum where a new emissive line appears at the Rabi frequency. In terms of the dressed atom model, this transition corresponds to an intradoublet transition previously forbidden in two-level atoms, though predicted to occur in certain two-level molecular systems. The spectrum is interpreted in terms of a dressed atom model. In general terms not only do the dressed atom transition frequencies correlate well with the spectral features, but there is also good agreement between the heights and widths of the spectral features and those obtained from the full master equation approach. The importance of using the full dipole operator in the basic definitions of the spectral quantities is also demonstrated.

We present numerical and analytical results for the Mollow probe absorption spectrum of a coherently driven two-level system in a narrow bandwidth squeezed vacuum field. The spectra are calculated for the case where the Rabi frequency of the driving field is much larger than the natural linewidth and the squeezed vacuum carrier frequency is detuned from the driving laser frequency. The driving laser is on resonance. We show that in a detuned squeezed vacuum the standard Mollow features are each split into triplets. The central components of each triplet are weakly dependent on the squeezing phase but the sidebands strongly depend on the phase and can have dispersive or absorptive/emissive profiles. We also derive approximate analytical expressions for the spectral features and find that the multi-peak structure of the spectrum can be interpreted either via the eigenfrequencies of a generalized Floquet Hamiltonian or in terms of three-photon transitions between dressed states involving a probe field photon and a correlated photon pair from the squeezed vacuum field.

We study the effects of driving a two-level atom by two intense field modes that have equal frequencies but are otherwise distinguishable; the intensity of one mode is also assumed to be greater than that of the other. We calculate first the dressed states of the system, and then its resonance fluorescence and Autler-Townes absorption spectra. We find that the energy spectrum of the doubly dressed atom consists of a ladder of doublet continua. These continua manifest themselves in the fluorescence spectrum, where they produce continua at the positions of the Mollow sideband frequencies ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\omega}}}_{\mathrm{L}}$ \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}2\ensuremath{\Omega} of the strong field, and in the Autler-Townes absorption spectrum, which becomes a two-continuum doublet.

We investigate how the quantum control of a two-level system (TLS) coupled to photons can modify and tune the TLS's photon absorption spectrum. Tuning and controlling the emission and the absorption are of great interest, e.g., for the development of efficient interfaces between stationary and flying qubits in modern architectures for quantum computation and quantum communication. We consider periodic pulse control, where the TLS is subjected to a periodic sequence of the near-resonant Rabi driving pulses, each pulse implementing a ${180}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}$ rotation. For small interpulse delays, the absorption spectrum features a pronounced peak of stimulated emission at the pulse frequency, similar satellite peaks with smaller spectral weights, and the net absorption peaks on the sides. As long as the detuning between the carrier frequency of the driving and the TLS transition frequency remains moderate, this spectral shape shows little change. Therefore, the pulse control allows shifting the absorption peak to a desired position and locks the overall absorption spectrum to the carrier frequency of the driving pulses. A detailed description of the spectrum and its evolution as a function time, the interpulse spacing, and the detuning is presented.

We have measured the emission spectrum of two-level-like Ba atoms driven by a continuous-wave bichromatic field containing a strong resonant component and a weaker component detuned from atomic resonance by the strong-field Rabi frequency. With the specified detuning, the weak field resonantly drives a transition of the atom--strong-field dressed states. Observed spectra show that each peak of the normal (single-driving-field) resonance fluorescence triplet is split into three subpeaks separated by one-half the weak-field Rabi frequency. Also seen is another triplet of peaks displaced from the atomic resonance by twice the strong-field Rabi frequency. Splitting of the normal triplet peaks can be explained through weak-field dressing of the strong-field dressed states. The origin of the additional triplet is less transparent. Comparison with theory is made.