Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Journal of Modern Optics

Effect of a Squeezed Vacuum on Coherent Population Trapping in a Three-level Lambda System

M.R. Ferguson, Z. Ficek, Bryan J. Dalton

Published Mar 1, 1995• 18 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Master equation methods are used to investigate the effects of a broad-band squeezed vacuum on a three-level atom of the lambda configuration. The two-mode squeezed vacuum is treated as a Markovian reservoir in a non-stationary phase-dependent state. In addition to the squeezed vacuum the atom is driven by two coherent laser fields each of which, depending on the polarization, can couple to one or both of the atomic transitions. We show that in general the optical Bloch equations for the atomic density matrix elements have oscillatory coefficients, thereby necessitating the use of Floquet methods. For the case of equal laser frequencies, which are also equal to the carrier frequency of the squeezed vacuum, the coefficients of the Bloch equations become time independent and stationary solutions for the populations and coherences are obtained by standard matrix methods. For the ordinary vacuum the usual coherent population trapping effect at two-photon resonance is obtained, with the upper state population being zero. An unsqueezed thermal field partially destroys the trapping effect as the upper state population is no longer zero at two-photon resonance. The squeezed vacuum has the effect of improving the trapping in that the coherence hole becomes more pronounced for some values of the relative phase between the squeezed vacuum and the driving fields. The additional effects of a coherence transfer rate between the two optical coherences, which occurs for special choices of angular momentum quantum numbers are also studied. For the case of equal laser frequencies, the inclusion of this coherence transfer process destroys population trapping and reduces the lambda system to a two-level system. However, for the case of unequal laser frequencies, the coherence transfer process in combination with the squeezed vacuum can restore to some extent the population trapping. We show that other features that do not occur for two-level atoms, such as stationary population inversions between pairs of the atomic levels, also depend on the relative phase and can be enhanced in the squeezed vacuum. In the case of unequal frequencies of the driving fields the population in the upper state depends on the relative phase only when the carrier frequency of the squeezed vacuum is equal to one of the two frequencies of the driving fields. When the carrier frequency of the squeezed vacuum is slightly detuned from both frequencies of the driving fields, the population in the upper state is insensitive to the relative phase but is dependent on the degree of squeezing. For large detunings, the population does not show any dependence on the degree of squeezing and its distribution in function of the two-photon detuning is similar to that in the thermal vacuum field.

DOI
10.1080/09500349514550621

Related papers

Photon Absorptions of a Driven Three-Level Atom in a Squeezed Vacuum

Zhaoyang Chen, Yan Xu, Zhi‐Cheng Wang

A three-level ladder atom driven by two coherent laser fields with rather different frequencies in various kinds of reservoirs is considered. Making use of the master equation and Bloch equation, we calculate numerically and show graphically the steady-state populations versus two-photon detuning. We also discuss and compare the two-photon and one-photon processes occurring for various cases. For a squeezed vacuum, only when the carrier frequency of the squeezed vacuum equals the average of frequencies of the two driving fields and the phase matching condition is fulfilled, will there be a strong two-photon resonant absorption from the squeezed vacuum, a characteristic different from absorption of photons from a classical field; Otherwise, the two-photon ab-sorption rate from the squeezed vacuum will be greatly diminished.

Journal of the Physical Society of Japan•Aug 15, 1998•0 citations

Resonance fluorescence of a two-level atom in an off-resonance squeezed vacuum

Z. Ficek, Barry C. Sanders

The authors present analytical and numerical results for resonance fluorescence produced by a two-level atom damped by a broad-band squeezed vacuum. Previous theoretical analyses of this model have assumed that the laser frequency and the carrier frequency of the squeezed vacuum are equal. The authors introduce a non-zero detuning between the laser frequency and the carrier frequency while maintaining resonance between the laser frequency and atomic resonance. In the absence of the driving field there is a squeezing threshold: above threshold the decay rate of the atomic polarization can be reduced, and below threshold a squeezing-induced two peak spectrum and frequency shift, which is analogous to the Bloch-Siegert shift, are predicted. In the presence of the driving field, the spectrum is asymmetric for Rabi frequencies smaller or comparable to the detuning of the squeezed vacuum. A symmetric spectrum is obtained for large Rabi frequencies. An interpretation is predicted by means of a dressed-state analysis. The authors find that for not too large Rabi frequencies a remarkably large population inversion can be induced in the dressed states, even at exact resonance of the driving field, provided that the laser frequency and carrier frequency are detuned. Moreover, for detection times larger than the inverse detuning, the spectrum is insensitive to the phase between the driving field and the squeezed vacuum, in marked contrast to the case of no detuning.

Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics•Feb 28, 1994•21 citations

Population inversion and stationary lineshapes in a driven two-atom system in a squeezed vacuum

Z. Ficek, Mohamed Ridza Wahiddin

We study the effect of a broadband squeezed vacuum on the dynamics of a two-atom system driven by a near resonant laser field. We show that only in the absence of the driving field are the collective atomic levels selectively populated. Otherwise all collective atomic levels are populated independently of the initial conditions and time. Moreover, we show that the mode correlations, characteristics for the squeezed vacuum, induce a population inversion which, in contrast to the selective population of the collective levels, is not destroyed by the driving field. The stationary lineshapes for the two atomic transitions are also studied. We show that in the squeezed vacuum the population in the upper collective level can exhibit three distinct peaks centred at the frequencies omega 0 and omega 0 +or- Omega 12 , where omega 0 is the atomic transition frequency and Omega 12 is the dipole-dipole interaction potential. The central peak is induced by the mode correlations, whereas the sidebands are induced by the driving field and show a strong dependence on the relative phase between the squeezed vacuum and the driving field. The population in the intermediate level shows a distinct peak at the frequency omega 0 + Omega 12 , and holes at omega 0 and omega 0 - Omega 12 .

Quantum and Semiclassical Optics Journal of the European Optical Society Part B•Feb 1, 1995•1 citation

Simultaneous squeezing of coherent fields using coherent population trapping

Qing Yang Xu, Xing Ming, Hongliang Deng +5 more

We study the effects of equal and unequal Rabi frequencies as well as cavity bandwidth on the optimal noise of the output fields from a two-mode optical cavity, which is fed by two coherent fields and encloses a collection of three-level Λ atoms. Each of the output modes is shown to be highly squeezed in the case of smaller symmetrical atomic detunings compared to the spontaneous-emission rates, where the system is in the vicinity of perfect coherent population trapping (CPT). We find that the squeezing on each output mode is larger than that reported by Dantan et al (2006 Phys. Rev. Lett. 97 023605) when adjusting the equal Rabi frequencies. The cavity bandwidth affects, not the degree of squeezing, but the linewidth of the spectral components. In an alternative way, the squeezing of each outgoing mode can be understood as a consequence of the enhanced cross-phase modulation, different from the nonlinear Faraday effect in Dantan's paper (2006 Phys. Rev. Lett. 97 023605). The application of squeezed light is to obtain high-precision measurement, optical communication, and interferometric detection of gravitational radiation.

Laser Physics•Nov 14, 2014•6 citations

Two-level atom in a squeezed vacuum with finite bandwidth

R. Tanaś, Z. Ficek, Azeddine Messikh +1 more

The resonance fluorescence of a two-level atom driven by a coherent laser field and damped by a finite bandwidth squeezed vacuum is analysed. We extend the Yeoman and Barnett technique to a non-zero detuning of the driving field from the atomic resonance and discuss the role of squeezing bandwidth and the detuning in the level shifts, widths and intensities of the spectral lines. The approach is valid for arbitrary values of the Rabi frequency and detuning but for the squeezing bandwidths larger than the natural line-width in order to satisfy the Markoff approximation. The narrowing of the spectral lines is interpreted in terms of the quadrature-noise spectrum. We find that, depending on the Rabi frequency, detuning and the squeezing phase, different factors contribute to the line narrowing. For a strong resonant driving field there is no squeezing in the emitted field and the fluorescence spectrum exactly reveals the noise spectrum. In this case the narrowing of the spectral lines arises from the noise reduction in the input squeezed vacuum. For a weak or detuned driving field the fluorescence exhibits a large squeezing and, as a consequence, the spectral lines have narrowed linewidths. Moreover, the fluorescence spectrum can be asymmetric about the central frequency despite the symmetrical distribution of the noise. The asymmetry arises from the absorption of photons by the squeezed vacuum which reduces the spontaneous emission. For an appropriate choice of the detuning some of the spectral lines can vanish despite that there is no population trapping. Again this process can be interpreted as arising from the absorption of photons by the squeezed vacuum. When the absorption is large it may compensate the spontaneous emission resulting in the vanishing of the fluorescence lines.

Journal of Modern Optics•Sep 1, 1998•22 citations

Off-resonant squeezed vacuum effects on a driven two-level atom: absorption and intensity harmonics

Saad S. M. Hassan, O. M. Frege, N. Nayak

The resonance fluorescence system of a coherently driven two-level atom in the presence of a broadband squeezed vacuum field whose central frequency is not in resonance with either the driving field frequency or the atomic transition frequency is analyzed. Solutions of the Bloch equations of the system are presented in terms of continued fractions for arbitrary strength of the coherent driving field. Numerical results are presented for the first-harmonic quadrature components of the absorption spectrum and the fluorescent intensity. The effects of the squeezed vacuum field detuning on the absorption spectrum result in hole burning or a dip structure in the weak-field case and two absorption–amplification peaks in the strong-field case. Results are sensitive to the relative phase of the squeezed vacuum.

Journal of the Optical Society of America B•Jul 1, 1995•14 citations
Master equation methods are used to investigate the effects of a broad-band squeezed vacuum on a three-level atom of the lambda configuration. The two-mode squeezed vacuum is treated as a Markovian reservoir in a non-stationary phase-dependent state. In addition to the squeezed vacuum the atom is driven by two coherent laser fields each of which, depending on the polarization, can couple to one or both of the atomic transitions. We show that in general the optical Bloch equations for the atomic density matrix elements have oscillatory coefficients, thereby necessitating the use of Floquet methods. For the case of equal laser frequencies, which are also equal to the carrier frequency of the squeezed vacuum, the coefficients of the Bloch equations become time independent and stationary solutions for the populations and coherences are obtained by standard matrix methods. For the ordinary vacuum the usual coherent population trapping effect at two-photon resonance is obtained, with the upper state population being zero. An unsqueezed thermal field partially destroys the trapping effect as the upper state population is no longer zero at two-photon resonance. The squeezed vacuum has the effect of improving the trapping in that the coherence hole becomes more pronounced for some values of the relative phase between the squeezed vacuum and the driving fields. The additional effects of a coherence transfer rate between the two optical coherences, which occurs for special choices of angular momentum quantum numbers are also studied. For the case of equal laser frequencies, the inclusion of this coherence transfer process destroys population trapping and reduces the lambda system to a two-level system. However, for the case of unequal laser frequencies, the coherence transfer process in combination with the squeezed vacuum can restore to some extent the population trapping. We show that other features that do not occur for two-level atoms, such as stationary population inversions between pairs of the atomic levels, also depend on the relative phase and can be enhanced in the squeezed vacuum. In the case of unequal frequencies of the driving fields the population in the upper state depends on the relative phase only when the carrier frequency of the squeezed vacuum is equal to one of the two frequencies of the driving fields. When the carrier frequency of the squeezed vacuum is slightly detuned from both frequencies of the driving fields, the population in the upper state is insensitive to the relative phase but is dependent on the degree of squeezing. For large detunings, the population does not show any dependence on the degree of squeezing and its distribution in function of the two-photon detuning is similar to that in the thermal vacuum field.
A three-level ladder atom driven by two coherent laser fields with rather different frequencies in various kinds of reservoirs is considered. Making use of the master equation and Bloch equation, we calculate numerically and show graphically the steady-state populations versus two-photon detuning. We also discuss and compare the two-photon and one-photon processes occurring for various cases. For a squeezed vacuum, only when the carrier frequency of the squeezed vacuum equals the average of frequencies of the two driving fields and the phase matching condition is fulfilled, will there be a strong two-photon resonant absorption from the squeezed vacuum, a characteristic different from absorption of photons from a classical field; Otherwise, the two-photon ab-sorption rate from the squeezed vacuum will be greatly diminished.
The authors present analytical and numerical results for resonance fluorescence produced by a two-level atom damped by a broad-band squeezed vacuum. Previous theoretical analyses of this model have assumed that the laser frequency and the carrier frequency of the squeezed vacuum are equal. The authors introduce a non-zero detuning between the laser frequency and the carrier frequency while maintaining resonance between the laser frequency and atomic resonance. In the absence of the driving field there is a squeezing threshold: above threshold the decay rate of the atomic polarization can be reduced, and below threshold a squeezing-induced two peak spectrum and frequency shift, which is analogous to the Bloch-Siegert shift, are predicted. In the presence of the driving field, the spectrum is asymmetric for Rabi frequencies smaller or comparable to the detuning of the squeezed vacuum. A symmetric spectrum is obtained for large Rabi frequencies. An interpretation is predicted by means of a dressed-state analysis. The authors find that for not too large Rabi frequencies a remarkably large population inversion can be induced in the dressed states, even at exact resonance of the driving field, provided that the laser frequency and carrier frequency are detuned. Moreover, for detection times larger than the inverse detuning, the spectrum is insensitive to the phase between the driving field and the squeezed vacuum, in marked contrast to the case of no detuning.
We study the effect of a broadband squeezed vacuum on the dynamics of a two-atom system driven by a near resonant laser field. We show that only in the absence of the driving field are the collective atomic levels selectively populated. Otherwise all collective atomic levels are populated independently of the initial conditions and time. Moreover, we show that the mode correlations, characteristics for the squeezed vacuum, induce a population inversion which, in contrast to the selective population of the collective levels, is not destroyed by the driving field. The stationary lineshapes for the two atomic transitions are also studied. We show that in the squeezed vacuum the population in the upper collective level can exhibit three distinct peaks centred at the frequencies omega 0 and omega 0 +or- Omega 12 , where omega 0 is the atomic transition frequency and Omega 12 is the dipole-dipole interaction potential. The central peak is induced by the mode correlations, whereas the sidebands are induced by the driving field and show a strong dependence on the relative phase between the squeezed vacuum and the driving field. The population in the intermediate level shows a distinct peak at the frequency omega 0 + Omega 12 , and holes at omega 0 and omega 0 - Omega 12 .
We study the effects of equal and unequal Rabi frequencies as well as cavity bandwidth on the optimal noise of the output fields from a two-mode optical cavity, which is fed by two coherent fields and encloses a collection of three-level Λ atoms. Each of the output modes is shown to be highly squeezed in the case of smaller symmetrical atomic detunings compared to the spontaneous-emission rates, where the system is in the vicinity of perfect coherent population trapping (CPT). We find that the squeezing on each output mode is larger than that reported by Dantan et al (2006 Phys. Rev. Lett. 97 023605) when adjusting the equal Rabi frequencies. The cavity bandwidth affects, not the degree of squeezing, but the linewidth of the spectral components. In an alternative way, the squeezing of each outgoing mode can be understood as a consequence of the enhanced cross-phase modulation, different from the nonlinear Faraday effect in Dantan's paper (2006 Phys. Rev. Lett. 97 023605). The application of squeezed light is to obtain high-precision measurement, optical communication, and interferometric detection of gravitational radiation.
The resonance fluorescence of a two-level atom driven by a coherent laser field and damped by a finite bandwidth squeezed vacuum is analysed. We extend the Yeoman and Barnett technique to a non-zero detuning of the driving field from the atomic resonance and discuss the role of squeezing bandwidth and the detuning in the level shifts, widths and intensities of the spectral lines. The approach is valid for arbitrary values of the Rabi frequency and detuning but for the squeezing bandwidths larger than the natural line-width in order to satisfy the Markoff approximation. The narrowing of the spectral lines is interpreted in terms of the quadrature-noise spectrum. We find that, depending on the Rabi frequency, detuning and the squeezing phase, different factors contribute to the line narrowing. For a strong resonant driving field there is no squeezing in the emitted field and the fluorescence spectrum exactly reveals the noise spectrum. In this case the narrowing of the spectral lines arises from the noise reduction in the input squeezed vacuum. For a weak or detuned driving field the fluorescence exhibits a large squeezing and, as a consequence, the spectral lines have narrowed linewidths. Moreover, the fluorescence spectrum can be asymmetric about the central frequency despite the symmetrical distribution of the noise. The asymmetry arises from the absorption of photons by the squeezed vacuum which reduces the spontaneous emission. For an appropriate choice of the detuning some of the spectral lines can vanish despite that there is no population trapping. Again this process can be interpreted as arising from the absorption of photons by the squeezed vacuum. When the absorption is large it may compensate the spontaneous emission resulting in the vanishing of the fluorescence lines.
The resonance fluorescence system of a coherently driven two-level atom in the presence of a broadband squeezed vacuum field whose central frequency is not in resonance with either the driving field frequency or the atomic transition frequency is analyzed. Solutions of the Bloch equations of the system are presented in terms of continued fractions for arbitrary strength of the coherent driving field. Numerical results are presented for the first-harmonic quadrature components of the absorption spectrum and the fluorescent intensity. The effects of the squeezed vacuum field detuning on the absorption spectrum result in hole burning or a dip structure in the weak-field case and two absorption–amplification peaks in the strong-field case. Results are sensitive to the relative phase of the squeezed vacuum.