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Chinese Physics Letters

Strong Correlation of Fluorescence Photons without Quantum Interference

Xiangming Hu, Wang Fei

Published Jan 18, 2007• 5 citations
Publisher

Abstract

It has been predicted that a driven three-level V atom can emit strongly correlated fluorescence photons in the presence of quantum interference. Here we examine the effects of quantum interference on the intensity correlation of fluorescence photons emitted from a driven three-level Λ atom. Unexpectedly, strong correlation occurs without quantum interference. The quantum interference tends to reduce the correlation function to a normal level. The essential difference between these two cases is traced to the different effects of quantum interference on coherent population trapping (CPT). For the V atom, quantum interference and coherent excitation combine to lead to CPT. For the Λ atom, however, the quantum interference tends to spoil CPT while the coherent excitation induces the effect.

DOI
10.1088/0256-307x/24/2/033

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We investigate the two-time intensity correlation functions of the fluorescence field emitted from a VVV-type three-level atom. We are particularly interested in the manner in which the atom emits photons in the presence of quantum interference. We show that under strong-field excitation quantum interference leads to anticorrelations of photons emitted from the atomic excited levels which can exist for extremely long times. This indicates that the excited atomic levels are not the preferred radiative states. We find that the atom spends most of its time in a superposition of the excited atomic levels from which it emits strongly correlated photons. The strong correlations are present only for a nonzero splitting between the excited levels, and for degenerate levels the correlations reduce to that of a two-level atom. Moreover, we find that the transition from the ground level to the symmetric superposition of the excited levels does not saturate even for a strong driving field. We also calculate the correlation functions for a weak driving field, and find that in this case the photon correlations are not significantly affected by quantum interference, but the atom can emit a strongly correlated pair of photons produced by a three-wave mixing process. Under appropriate conditions, with near-maximal quantum interference, it is possible to make the maximum value of the correlation function extremely large, in marked contrast with the corresponding case with no quantum interference.
We investigate quantum interference and classical-interference effects when three-level atoms in the ``$\ensuremath{\Lambda}$'' or ``V'' configuration interact with both a cavity-field mode and an external driving field mode. We describe electromagnetically induced transparency ($\ensuremath{\Lambda}$ configuration), as well as a ``field-induced transparency'' (V configuration), and we go beyond the weak cavity-field studies of previous papers by utilizing a Heisenberg-picture density matrix approach. We find that under certain circumstances the cavity field evolves to be equal in magnitude to, but $180\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}$ out of phase with, the external pump field when the pump-field frequency equals the cavity frequency, a surprising effect found in two-level atoms in a cavity excited by an external pump field that persists in three-level atoms. The better the cavity, the quicker this buildup occurs. When the cavity field reaches this ``out-of-phase'' condition, the resonance fluorescence from the atom in the cavity goes to zero. This is a purely classical-interference effect between the two out-of-phase fields, with the resonance fluorescence going to zero at the same time as the two excited state populations go to zero. This is quite different from the quantum interference that occurs under the right circumstances when the state populations are coherently driven into a linear combination that is decoupled from any applied field and population is trapped in the excited states (``coherent population trapping''). When the cavity frequency is tuned to the frequency at which quantum interference would occur, the two interference effects compete with each other. The cavity field begins to evolve toward the $180\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}$ out-of-phase condition, thereby approaching a classical destructive interference condition with the pump field. Then at some point before 100% classical interference occurs, depending on the cavity damping rate and atom/cavity coupling strength, the atom builds up its coherence between state populations to produce the quantum interference effect. At that point, the atom becomes transparent and resonance fluorescence disappears, including fluorescence into the cavity, thereby causing the cavity field to die away.
We examine the intensity correlation functions of the two fluorescent fields that are emitted from the top and middle states of a doubly driven three-level atom in the cascade configuration. Novel interference effects are shown. (i) Both of the fluorescent fields have anticorrelations which can exist for long times when the applied fields are on the two-photon resonance and far off one-photon resonances. (ii) Both of the fluorescent fields have strong correlations when the applied fields are far off one- and two-photon resonances. In particular, the extremely strong correlation occurs for the photons emitted from the top state. The above phenomena are traced to the multiple interference mechanisms.
Quantum interference has been predicted to occur in a three-level Λ system with near-degenerate dipole allowed transitions, which are coupled to the same linearly polarized incoherent field. For the Λ system with two degenerate lower levels, we show that (a) quantum interference of incoherent pump processes leads to coherent population trapping (CPT), and (b) when two coherent fields are applied to two transitions on two-photon resonance, CPT appears when the amplitudes and phases of the applied coherent fields and the polarization angle of the incoherent field satisfy certain conditions. Further, the physical mechanism and the above conditions for CPT are presented.
In this paper, we investigate the spontaneously generated coherence (SGC) effects on the fluorescence fields intensity-intensity correlation in a resonant driven four-level Y-type atomic system. By using a strong control field, in the absense of SGC effects, strong correlation and anticorrelation fluorescence photons can be produced from two ladder transitions in this system respectively. However, in the presence of SGC effects, the fluorescence fields correlation properties are reversed for the two transitions. The above phenomena can be traced to the quantum destructive or constructive interference in terms of dressed states.
We discuss quantum interference effects in the resonance fluorescence spectrum of a \ensuremath{\Lambda} three-level atom when the lower-level doublet is driven by a coherent field. The interfering pathways that lead to the same final state involve both spontaneous decays and stimulated transitions, and differ from one another by an odd number of stimulated processes induced by the driving field. As a consequence, the interference structures depend upon the phase of the coherent field, an effect that is absent in other resonance fluorescence phenomena. The phase dependence of the quantum interference contribution is especially significant when the level splitting of the driven doublet is comparable to the spontaneous decay rates of the competing optical paths.