Physical Review A
Enhanced selectivity and efficiency of coherent population transfer via a train of pulse pairs
Xihua Yang, Zhenhua Zhang, Xiaona Yan, Chun-Fang Li
Abstract
We propose a way to significantly enhance selectivity and efficiency of coherent population transfer in a $\ensuremath{\Lambda}$-type four-level system with a closely spaced doublet in the final state by using a train of counterintuitively ordered pump-Stokes pulse pairs. Due to temporal constructive and destructive quantum interference between the sequential transitions and subsequent coherent accumulation and annihilation in the time domain, the spectral resolution of selective and perfect population transfer to either of the final states can be improved by more than one order of magnitude as compared to the conventionally widely used stimulated Raman adiabatic passage and chirped adiabatic passage techniques, which can also be well understood as a result of the formation of a comblike structure of the pulse train spectrum in the frequency domain. Moreover, an arbitrary coherent superposition between the closely separated doublet can be achieved by suitably tuning the repetition period and detuning of the laser fields. This method has potential applications in control of chemical reactions and quantum information processing.