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Physical Review A

Coherent pump-probe spectroscopy in sodium vapor: From electromagnetically induced transparency to parametric amplification

Ken-ichi Takahashi, Nobuhito Hayashi, Hiroaki Kido, Shota Sugimura, Naoya Hombo, Masaharu Mitsunaga

Published Jun 20, 2011• 6 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We have theoretically and experimentally investigated coherent pump-probe spectra for the $3{S}_{1/2}$-$3{P}_{1/2}$ $D1$ transition of sodium atomic vapor. Probe transmission spectra in the presence of a coupling beam exhibit dramatic changes depending on experimental conditions. In the weak-excitation, low-atomic-density limit, the spectra are mainly characterized by electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) and saturated absorption, but for the strong-excitation, high-density case, parametric amplification (PA) is dominant, featuring high probe gain and Stokes-wave generation. We have developed a theory that can explain these two seemingly totally different phenomena (EIT and PA) within the same theoretical framework by manipulating a few experimentally controllable parameters, and have successfully reproduced the observed spectra. Other than the main spectral features, many other interesting physical processes have been predicted and observed.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.83.063824

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In an ordinary electromagnetically-induced-transparency (EIT) experiment using a hot sodium vapor, we have observed a probe gain up to 32 in the presence of a coupling beam in an otherwise totally opaque (transmissivity $\ensuremath{\sim}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}5}$) situation, increasing the transmissivity by 6 orders of magnitude. This gain is attributable to parametric amplification (PA), accompanying the Stokes (or anti-Stokes) wave with similar output intensity, and is critically dependent upon the atomic density and the coupling beam power. Experimental and theoretical analyses have revealed that, while the EIT picture is valid for relatively low atomic densities, the PA picture becomes dominant for high atomic densities and high coupling powers. We have also found that the parametric coupling between the probe and Stokes waves can be nullified by the proper choice of the coupling detuning frequency, due to destructive interference of two elementary processes.
The results of an experimental and theoretical study of the gain (or absorption) experienced by a weak probe beam propagating through a sodium vapor in the presence of an intense pump field that is nearly resonant with the 3s→3p atomic transition are presented. In general, the probe transmission spectrum is found to be comprised of three distinct features, two of which can lead to amplification of the probe wave. The origin of these features can be traced to the modification of the atomic level structure by the ac Stark effect. The experimentally measured spectra are in good agreement with the predictions of a theoretical model based on the solution of the density-matrix equations of motion for a two-level atom and including the effects of Doppler broadening. The dependence of the induced gain on the pressure of a helium buffer gas has been measured and is found to be in good agreement with the predictions of theory. The maximum gain observed in these experiments occurs at one of the Rabi sidebands and leads to a 38-fold increase in the intensity of the probe wave.
We present the results of an experimental and theoretical study of the gain (or absorption) experienced by a weak probe beam propagating through a sodium vapor in the presence of an intense pump field that is nearly resonant with the 3s → 3p atomic transition. The probe-transmission spectrum includes three distinct features that result from the modification of the atomic-level structure by the ac-Stark effect. Two of these features can lead to amplification of the probe wave. We measured the dependence of the probe spectrum on the detuning of the pump beam from resonance and on the pressure of a helium buffer gas. The experimentally obtained spectra are in good agreement with the predictions of a theoretical model based on the solution of the density-matrix equations of motion for a two-level atom and including the effects of Doppler broadening. The maximum gain measured in these experiments occurs at one of the Rabi sidebands and leads to a 38-fold increase in the intensity of the probe wave. Under some experimental conditions, we also observed two additional resonances, which are due to stimulated Raman scattering involving the sodium ground-state hyperfine levels.
We have theoretically and experimentally investigated the V-type three-level system in hot sodium atomic vapor interacting with two optical waves: probe, resonant to the D1 line, and coupling, the D2 line. Theoretically, probe transmission spectra are simulated by using a perturbative treatment including eight hyperfine levels (multilevel system) in the 3S1/2, 3P1/2, and 3P3/2 states. The spectra are composed of linear absorption, saturated absorption, and electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) signals. By comparing this simulation with the experimental results, we concluded that we have indeed observed EIT signals when the coupling beam is resonant to the D2-line closed transition.
We present the results of an experimental and theoretical study of the gain experienced by a weak probe beam propagating through a sodium vapor in the presence of an intense pump field that is nearly resonant with the 3s→3p atomic transition. This interaction provides a means by which the outputs of two lasers can be combined coherently. The probe transmission spectrum is comprised of three distinct features, two of which result in amplification of the probe wave. The origin of these features can be traced to the modification of the atomic level structure by the ac Stark effect. The experimentally measured spectra are in good agreement with the predictions of a theoretical model based on the solution of the density-matrix equations of motion for a two-level atom and including the effects of Doppler broadening. The dependence of the induced gain on the pressure of a helium buffer gas has been measured and is in good agreement with the predictions of theory. The maximum gain observed in these experiments occurs at one of the Rabi sidebands and leads to a 38-fold increase in the intensity of the probe wave.
Based on our experimental observations of the resonant stimulated Raman gain and loss spectra in Rb atomic vapor, we propose an alternative interpretation of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). We find that, in the presence of a coupling field, a probe beam can exhibit both gain and loss depending on the frequencies of the incident beams. The gain and loss can coexist in a Doppler-broadened system, leading to polarization interference between atoms of different velocities, with a sharp transition from gain to loss as the probe-field frequency is scanned. We use the concept of Raman gain, instead of the commonly accepted quantum Fano interference, to explain the phenomenon of EIT and its transparency window as being due to the suppression of linear absorption by the Raman gain. Using this concept, the phenomena of EIT and Autler-Townes splitting may be explained within the same framework.