The occurrence of steady-state squeezing in a coherently driven three-level atom of the \ensuremath{\Lambda} configuration is found to be highly sensitive to the detection process of the fluorescence field. We show that there is no steady-state squeezing when the two atomic transitions equally contribute to the detected fluorescence field. There is no squeezing even when only one of the two possible transitions contributes to the detected fluorescence field, if the decay rate of the contributing transition is smaller than or equal to the decay rate of the other transition. Squeezing may occur only when the decay rate of the transition that exclusively contributes to the detected fluorescence field is larger than the decay rate of the other transition. Moreover, when the squeezing attains its maximum value, pure two-level squeezing is involved. The system reduces to a two-level system in which both the basic three-level dynamics and the two-photon coherences are destroyed.
The occurrence of steady-state squeezing in a coherently driven three-level atom of the \ensuremath{\Lambda} configuration is found to be highly sensitive to the detection process of the fluorescence field. We show that there is no steady-state squeezing when the two atomic transitions equally contribute to the detected fluorescence field. There is no squeezing even when only one of the two possible transitions contributes to the detected fluorescence field, if the decay rate of the contributing transition is smaller than or equal to the decay rate of the other transition. Squeezing may occur only when the decay rate of the transition that exclusively contributes to the detected fluorescence field is larger than the decay rate of the other transition. Moreover, when the squeezing attains its maximum value, pure two-level squeezing is involved. The system reduces to a two-level system in which both the basic three-level dynamics and the two-photon coherences are destroyed.
The squeezing spectrum of the fluorescent light is investigated for a laser-driven three-level atom of the $\ensuremath{\Lambda}$ configuration when quantum interference of the decay channels is accounted for. We show that when the two atomic transitions contribute to the detected fluorescence field, squeezing at certain frequency intervals is obtained in both the weak- and the high-Rabi-frequency regimes even for equally decay rates of the transitions. Unlike in two-level atoms in free space, squeezing can be obtained in both the in-phase and out-of-phase quadrature spectra although in different spectral regions. We also show that the squeezing spectrum can be controlled by an adequate selection of the Rabi frequencies and atomic detunings. Another remarkable effect is that squeezing can be achieved with proper relative phases of the driving fields. We provide an analytical description in the dressed basis which accounts for the main features of the squeezing spectra obtained from the numerical work.
A theoretical study is made of the steady-state intensity and squeezing properties of the fluorescent light from a three-level-atom system in a ladder configuration, which is subject to spontaneous-emission decay to the electromagnetic-field vacuum. Two cases are examined: in the equispaced (ES) level case, the two atomic transition frequencies are nearly equal and two photon absorption processes occur from a single coherent laser field that couples both transitions and has a small detuning from each; in the non- equispaced (NES) level case, the atomic transition frequencies are rather different and two photon absorption processes occur from two coherent laser fields, each coupled to a single transition and in near resonance with it. In both cases, a situation of small two-photon detuning occurs. Optical Bloch equations for the atomic density matrix in rotating frames are given and matrix expressions for determining the steady-state populations and coherences are obtained. Analytic expressions are also given for special cases. The fluorescent intensity is obtained from the populations of the intermediate and upper states, with the normally ordered variance (NOV) for quadrature components of the fluorescent field involving, in addition, the atomic coherences. The fluorescent intensities are shown graphically as a function of two-photon detuning for a variety of one-photon detunings and Rabi frequencies for the ES and NES cases.In both cases, the fluorescent intensities show the well known resonances from the upper state at zero two-photon detuning and from the intermediate state at zero one-photon detuning for the lower transition. However, further resonances are also found. The intermediate-state intensity displays a resonance at zero two-photon detuning. Also, the upper-state intensity shows a resonance at zero one-photon detuning for the upper transition, but only for the NES case; evidently, the transfer rate from upper to lower transition coherences destroys this resonance for the ES case. The time-averaged NOV is also shown graphically as a function of two-photon detuning for a variety of one-photon detunings and Rabi frequencies for the ES and NES cases. For the ES case, the quadrature frequency is chosen as the single laser frequency and for the NES case, it is chosen as either the average of the two laser frequencies or the lower transition laser frequency. Squeezing occurs near zero two-photon detuning for both ES and NES cases, though only for the quadrature frequency equal to the average laser frequency in the latter case. It also occurs near zero detuning for the lower transition for both cases, though only for the quadrature frequency equal to the lower transition laser frequency in the NES case. The squeezing minima show a splitting effect for large Rabi frequencies corresponding to two-photon or one-photon Rabi splitting of the dressed atom levels for the situation near two-photon or one-photon resonance, respectively. The large squeezing near two-photon resonance for moderate Rabi frequencies and large one-photon detuning corresponds to essentially pure three-level squeezing, while that near one-photon resonance for weak Rabi frequencies involves two-level squeezing.
We discuss the phase-sensitive noise properties of fluorescence emitted by three-level atoms coherently excited by two laser fields, using both undressed and dressed uncoupled-state representations. The occurrence of steady-state squeezing is found to be highly sensitive to relaxation processes between the two-photon resonant levels. For purely radiative decay from the upper level, and no lower-state relaxation, the population is susceptible to coherent population trapping. Near two-photon resonance, the atom is optically pumped into a nonabsorbing (trapped) superposition state, which, although it reduces upper-level population, also leads to an interference cancellation of dipole moments and to suppression of squeezing. Lower-level relaxation unbalances this interference and restores the squeezing to some extent. Transient squeezing is also predicted in the time-dependent fluorescence.
Light emitted from laser-driven atoms often has squeezed quadrature fluctuations reflecting the phase dependence of the atomic source excited into a coherent superposition by the driving field. In this paper, we study the maximum squeezing in the emitted light fields from three-level atoms, paying particular attention to the role of atomic coherences in governing the optimum squeezing which is possible. Some phase dependent nonlinear optical processes have the potential for substantial quantum noise reduction at useful intensities: for example, four-wave mixing involving atomic systems has already been used to generate quadrature-squeezed light. The threoretical description of such a source is generally complicated with damping processes, coherent and incoherent pumping, and so on, all needing to be taken into account. Fully quantum treatments are available, but the basic physics of the process is often difficult to grasp in the necessarily complicated analysis. Although less important from the point of view of efficient practical sources of squeezed light, studying the generation of squeezed light in simpler systems such as two- or three-level atoms interacting with one or two modes (as in Jaynes-Cummings models) or in spontaneous emission or resonance fluorescence gives greater insight into the fundamentals of the squeezing process. In particular, the relationship between the atomic coherences and the degree of squeezing in the generated fields can be explored. We study the maximum (optimized) squeezing that can be obtained in the emitted fields from the irreversible decay from three-level atoms for any choice of initial conditions, excitations and decay process, for all quadrature components and for all possible configurations (V, \ensuremath{\Lambda}, and ``ladder'' systems).We show that for V and \ensuremath{\Lambda} systems, optimum squeezing is actually associated with a two-level state (in a suitable basis) involving a single one-photon coherence, but for ladder systems the state for maximum noise reduction is not equivalent to a two-level system and involves a single two-photon coherence and no intermediate state population. We pay particular attention to whether the total field is in a minimum uncertainty state, and the nature of the atomic state associated with maximum squeezing, especially whether it is a mixed or pure state. In the case where the initial free field has a zero amplitude at the detector and the source atoms are confined to a region small compared to the wavelength (Dicke source) we show that the squeezing in the total field is given in terms of the squeezing in the source field, and hence related to atomic populations and atomic one-photon and two-photon coherences for the case of three level atom. Previously unconsidered source-free field interferences terms are shown to be zero. The choice of quadrature phase and frequency is optimized to minimize the source field normally ordered variance. We then minimize further with respect to the choice of atomic density matrix elements subject to the constraints that the density matrix is Hermitean, positive, and has a trace equal to unity. In all cases we find that the optimum squeezing is produced when the source field is in a minimum uncertainty state.
The fluorescence field from one of the two allowed transitions in a three-level atom can sense squeezed fluctuations of a vacuum field coupled to the other transition. We examine the fluorescence spectra of strongly driven three-level atoms in \ensuremath{\Lambda}, V, and cascade configurations in which one of the two one-photon transitions is coupled to a finite-bandwidth squeezed vacuum field, when the bandwidth is much smaller than the difference in the atomic transition frequencies, though much larger than atomic decay rates and Rabi frequencies of the driving fields. The driving fields are on one-photon resonance, and the squeezed vacuum field is generated by a degenerate parameter oscillator. Details are only given for the \ensuremath{\Lambda} configuration. The extension to the V and cascade configurations is straightforward. We find that in all configurations the fluorescence spectra of the transition not coupled to the squeezed vacuum field are composed of five lines, one central and two pairs of sidebands, with intensities and widths strongly influenced by the squeezed vacuum field. However, only the central component and the outer sidebands exhibit a dependence on the squeezing phase. We also examine the fluorescence spectrum for the cascade configuration with a squeezed vacuum field on resonance with the two-photon transition between the ground and the most excited states and now generated by a nondegenerate parametric oscillator. In this case, where the squeezed vacuum field can be made coupled to both transitions, all spectral lines depend on the squeezing phase. The spectral features are explained in terms of the dressed-atom model of the system. We show that the coherent mixing of the atomic states by the strong driving fields modifies transition rates between the dressed states, which results in the selective phase dependence of the spectral features. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.
The squeezing properties of the fluorescence field emitted by a two-level atom driven by a coherent laser field in a squeezed vacuum are calculated. We show that in the region of the anomalous resonance fluorescence the emitted field exhibits squeezing that is much larger than that in the input squeezed vacuum. The squeezing spectrum attains a minimum value that corresponds to 75% squeezing. We also find that, in the total fluorescence field, squeezing attains an optimum achievable value in the fluorescence field emitted by a two-level atom. The optimum squeezing is associated with the collapse of the system into a pure state.