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Physical Review A

Phase-sensitive dynamics of bichromatically driven two-level atoms

Qilin Wu, Daniel J. Gauthier, THOMAS W. MOSSBERG

Published Mar 1, 1994• 46 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Observations of qualitatively different coherent transient phenomena associated with bichromatic optical excitation are reported. The effects demonstrated include the control of atomic dynamics through a variation of the initial relative phase of the driving fields and the polarization of population within atom-field dressed states. The dynamics observed are fundamentally more complex than those characteristic of monochromatically driven atoms.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.49.r1519

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Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE•Jun 15, 2007•2 citations
Observations of qualitatively different coherent transient phenomena associated with bichromatic optical excitation are reported. The effects demonstrated include the control of atomic dynamics through a variation of the initial relative phase of the driving fields and the polarization of population within atom-field dressed states. The dynamics observed are fundamentally more complex than those characteristic of monochromatically driven atoms.
We experimentally investigate the transient dynamics of two-level atoms under bichromatic optical excitation. Novel new dynamical behavior is observed that may be interpreted classically in terms of the vector model or in a modem vein as resonant monochromatic excitation of dressed atoms. We show the first observation of dressed-atom optical mutations. We also show that the system dynamics depend critically on the initial relative phase of the two excitation-field components and that controlled bichromatic excitation may lead to complete dressed-state polarization of initially ground-state atoms.
We experimentally investigate the transient dynamics of two-level atoms driven by a bichromatic optical excitation field when the bichromatic field is configured to contain a strong resonant component and a weaker nonresonant perturber component. We concentrate on the experimental situation in which the two-level atoms are prepared in an eigenstate (dressed state) of the coupled atom-resonant field system prior to exposure to the perturber field. We experimentally demonstrate perturber-field-induced, optical nutation of the dressed-state populations. We show how nutation of the dressed-state populations manifests itself in the fluorescence signal of the transiently driven atoms. We observe that the detuning of the perturber field from transitions between the dressed states of the atom-resonant field system plays the same role in determining the character of the dressed-state optical nutation as the atom-field detuning in the case of the ordinary optical nutation of atomic populations. Our experiments demonstrate the utility of the dressed-atom picture in understanding the complex dynamics of bichromatically driven atoms in a variety of circumstances.
Theoretical studies have shown that the transient dynamics of an undamped two-level atom, driven by a bichromatic laser field consisting of a strong resonant pump and a moderate strength tunable perturber, are complex. Among the interesting results, it has been found that the strong field tends to stabilize the atom against the influence of the perturber field.1 Exceptions occur when the perturber is detuned from the strong field by the Rabi frequency of the pump or its subharmonics. In addition, it has been found that the atomic response depends strongly on the initial relative phase of the two excitation-field components.1,2 We have constructed an experimental apparatus to study the transient response of two-level like Yb atoms to bichromatic field excitations. The transient bichromatic laser field is generated by sending a dye laser beam double pass through an AOM driven by a bichromatic rf field. All the optical field parameters, amplitudes, frequencies, and phases, are controlled by corresponding rf field parameters.
We analyze the transient probe spectra that arise when a three-level atom is strongly driven by an optical field nearly resonant with one transition and is probed by a step-function weak field on a coupled transition. We pay particular attention to the effect of imbalances in the initial dressed-state populations on the observed spectra. As recently pointed out, such imbalances may be induced by sudden changes in the phase of the driving field. We find that transient probe spectra may differ dramatically for different initial atomic conditions. We follow the temporal relaxation of these novel probe spectra to their steady-state form. Our calculations do not include the effect of inhomogeneous broadening and are hence appropriate to studies of collimated atomic beams.
We have studied the transient response of undamped two-level atoms to excitation by a classical bichromatic field consisting of a strong resonant component and a moderate-strength, tunable, ``perturber'' component. It is found that the strong field tends to stabilize the atom against the influence of the perturber field. Exceptions to this general result occur when the perturber is detuned from the strong field by the Rabi frequency of the latter or its subharmonics. We believe this stabilization phenomenon is a semiclassical analog of the effect that leads to the dynamical modification of spontaneous emission [M. Lewenstein and T. W. Mossberg, Phys. Rev. Lett. 59, 775 (1987)], and the presence of detunings at which the stabilization fails provides a simple motivation for the Rabi subharmonic resonances found in certain cw bichromatic spectra. Interestingly, when the perturber field is relatively weak, detuned from the atomic resonance by the strong-field Rabi frequency, and turned on with a specific initial phase relative to the strong field, one finds that the bichromatic field can be employed to dressed-state polarize initially ground-state atoms. In a related vein, we find that perturbations at the subharmonic detunings lead to interesting phase-dependent atomic dynamics. Results were obtained using both numerical and approximate analytical techniques entirely within the context of the rotating-wave approximation. The validity of the latter is ensured by demanding that all detunings and Rabi frequencies are vanishingly small compared to the atomic transition frequency.
Coherent phase control under the interaction between bichromatic radiation with multiple frequencies and quantum systems is the topic of the last time investigations both experimental and theoretical. This type of nonlinear optical control enables one to manipulate the characteristics of radiation processes by the change of the relative phase of bichromatic field. The present study is devoted to the theoretical analysis of the coherent control of two-level system behavior under bichromatic excitation in the frame of perturbation approach. The general expressions have been derived which are valid for any integer ratio n between the frequencies of monochromatic components of radiation. Obtained formulas describe the system characteristics as functions of relative phase of bichromatic field and other radiation parameters. Bichromatic excitation of Rubidium atom is considered as numerical example.