Dynamically induced irreversibility in coherently driven systems
Krishna K. Meduri, Geoffrey A. Wilson, Peter B. Sellin +1 more
We show that continuous-wave, two color excitation of three-level atoms opens new channels of irreversible population transfer between atomic levels. We point out that dynamically induced irreversibility leads to unanticipated phenomena such as the inversion of atomic transitions in cases where the upper atomic level has no conventional source of irreversible population pumping. The widely held view that coherent excitation is reversible is called into question.
Physical Review Letters•Dec 27, 1993•36 citations