A full quantum treatment is given of suppression of absorption and lasing without inversion in a ∧-type three-level atom induced by a strong driving field resonant with the two lower levels. The nature of the quantum interference leading to the suppression of absorption and lasing without inversion and its relation to the initial state preparation are studied. Particular attention is given to the effects that arise specifically from the quantum nature of the driving field. It is shown that, because of the distinguishability of the states of the driving field that have different photon numbers, destructive interference is confined to occur within a finite region of the photon number space. A complete cancellation of absorption predicted in the semiclassical theory should thus be regarded as resulting from an ideal behavior achieved only in the classical limit when the driving field is given as a strong coherent field.
A full quantum treatment is given of suppression of absorption and lasing without inversion in a ∧-type three-level atom induced by a strong driving field resonant with the two lower levels. The nature of the quantum interference leading to the suppression of absorption and lasing without inversion and its relation to the initial state preparation are studied. Particular attention is given to the effects that arise specifically from the quantum nature of the driving field. It is shown that, because of the distinguishability of the states of the driving field that have different photon numbers, destructive interference is confined to occur within a finite region of the photon number space. A complete cancellation of absorption predicted in the semiclassical theory should thus be regarded as resulting from an ideal behavior achieved only in the classical limit when the driving field is given as a strong coherent field.
Quantum coherence and correlations in atomic and radiation physics have led to many interesting and unexpected consequences. For example, an atomic ensemble prepared in a coherent superposition of states yields the Hanle effect, quantum beats, photon echo, self-induced transparency, and coherent Raman beats. In fact, in Section 1.4, we saw that the quantum beat effect provides one of the most compelling reasons for quantizing the radiation field. A further interesting consequence of preparing an atomic system in a coherent superposition of states is that, under certain conditions, it is possible for atomic coherence to cancel absorption. Such atomic states are called trapping states †. The observation of nonabsorbing resonances via atomic coherence and interference impacts on the concepts of lasing without inversion (LWI),‡ enhancement of the index of refraction accompanied by vanishing absorption, and electromagnetically induced transparency. In lasing without inversion, the essential idea is the absorption cancellation by atomic coherence and interference. This phenomenon is also the essence of electromagnetically induced transparency. Usually this is accomplished in three-level atomic systems in which there are two coherent routes for absorption that can destructively interfere, thus leading to the cancellation of absorption. A small population in the excited state can thus lead to net gain. A related phenomenon is that of resonantly enhanced refractive index without absorption in an ensemble of phase-coherent atoms ( phaseonium ). In a phaseonium gas with no population in the excited level, the absorption cancellation always coincides with vanishing refractivity.
The appearance of quantum interference in the microscopic world is one of the deepest mysteries at the very root of quantum mechanics. When light interacts with atoms, it can induce transitions by way of distinct but indistinguishable pathways and yield unexpected and often counter-intuitive results. Electromagnetically Induced Transparency (EIT), Coherent Population Trapping (CPT), and Lasing Without Inversion (LWI) are modern examples of phenomena where the traditional rules that govern absorption and dispersion undergo major revisions. Spectacular consequences of this new state of affairs include the ability of a light beam to propagate through a normally absorbing medium with little or no absorption, or to undergo amplification even if the active medium is not prepared in a state of population inversion. Light signals have been shown to travel with strongly subluminal group velocities of only a handful of meters per second and, even, to propagate at speed greater than the ordinary speed of light, but without violation of causality or of the established rules that control the transfer of optical information through space. Three-level atoms can interact with two coherent electromagnetic fields according to three different systems, known as Cascade, Lambda and Vee systems. The propagation of a weak probe field can be deeply affected by the presence of a second stronger beam, the so-called coupling field. Transparency windows, splitting of emission and absorption lines and enormously enhanced dispersion have been documented in numerous experiments. In this thesis we explore the physical origin of the transparency induced in these systems by the simultaneous interplay of the coupling and probe fields. We focus our attention on the Cascade system and study its two configurations, Cascade-EIT and Cascade-AT. We develop a variety of complementary approaches for the description of these two configurations, some semiclassical and others fully quantum mechanical. We prove the existence of quantum interference in Electromagnetically Induced Transparency and also the surprising absence of interference in a closely related phenomenon, known as the Autler-Townes effect. Finally we complement the traditional machinery of theoretical quantum optics with techniques borrowed from quantum scattering theory, and offer what we believe is the most convincing physical evidence for the appearance, or for the absence, of quantum interference effects.
In this work we report a quantum interference mediated control of the resonance profiles in a generic three-level system and investigate its effect on key quantum interference (QI) phenomena. Namely in a three-level configuration with doublets in the ground or excited states, we show control over enhancement and suppression of the emission (absorption) profiles. This is achieved by manipulation of the strength of QI and the energy spacing of the doublets. We analyze the application of such QI-induced control of the resonance profile in the framework of two limiting cases of lasing without inversion and photodetection.
In lasing without inversion, the essential idea is the absorption in cancellation by atomic coherence and interference. Usually this is accomplished in three-level atomic systems. In this work, the interaction of a three-level atom and the external electromagnetic field is discussed by the Maxwell-Schrddinger model. The atom is treated quantum mechanically by the Schrddinger equation, whereas the field is treated classically by the Maxwell's equations. An example is presented to demonstrate the effect of coherent trapping.
This chapter introduces a three-level atomic model and discusses two other coherent atomic phenomena; namely, coherent Raman scattering and lasing without inversion. Lasing without inversion may take place in three-level resonant atomic systems and, like super-radiance, results from atomic coherence. Super-radiation is initiated by spontaneous fluctuations of the polarization in the medium. The semiclassical method is a powerful tool that is useful for the treatment of propagation effects in super-radiance as well as in such coherent emission processes as self-induced transparency, photon echo and others. The use of the Maxwell—Bloch equations allows one to consider these phenomena in elongated systems. Fortunately, the semiclassical approach is readily applicable to low-density systems that are to gases. However, one has to exercise greater care when applying it to coherent emission in solids. In high-density systems there is a strong mixing of the field and atomic states in the vicinity of resonance.
We study two-photon absorption in a three-level ladder atomic system driven by a pair of bichromatic fields of equal frequency differences. The high-frequency component of one bichromatic field and the low-frequency component of the other are on two-photon resonance. The transition probability is calculated by employing the method of harmonic expansion and matrix inversion. Unexpectedly, when the sums of the phases of the different pairs of field components on the two-photon resonance are equal to each other, two-photon absorption is dramatically suppressed and the atomic system becomes transparent against two-photon absorption. Physically, due to dynamical Stark splitting, the two-photon transitions induced by the different pairs of field components experience different dressed states with phase difference of $\ensuremath{\pi}$. As a result, destructive interference occurs between the two pathways and leads to the inhibition of two-photon absorption.