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Optics Letters

Quantum interference in atomic vapor observed by four-wave mixing with incoherent light

José Ferraz, D. Felinto, L. H. Acioli, S. S. Vianna

Published Jul 15, 2005• 5 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Pairs of pulses from an incoherent source are used to investigate the time-resolved four-wave mixing response of atomic rubidium when a two-photon resonance is involved in the nonlinear process. By varying the relative polarization of the pulse pairs, we are able to select the quantum pathways and clearly distinguish optical and quantum interferences.

DOI
10.1364/ol.30.001876

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Pairs of pulses from an incoherent source are used to investigate the time-resolved four-wave mixing response of atomic rubidium when a two-photon resonance is involved in the nonlinear process. By varying the relative polarization of the pulse pairs, we are able to select the quantum pathways and clearly distinguish optical and quantum interferences.
We report the observation of the interferometric response in parametric four-wave mixing in rubidium atoms excited by a pair of ultrashort pulses. For pulses with orthogonal polarizations and in the presence of the two-photon transition 5S-5D reveals a one-photon quantum interference, in contrast to the optical interference observed when the pulses have parallel polarization. For opposite circular polarizations no interference is observed in the fluorescence of the two-photon transition, in contrast to the one- and two-photon interferences exhibited in the nonlinear process.
We present new results on the coherent control of a four-wave mixing signal in rubidium vapor involving Rydberg levels. By varying the relative polarizations of the laser beams responsible for the nonlinear process, we control atomic excitation routes and thus quantum interference in the medium. We observed interference fringes as a function of the relative polarizations and further developed a theoretical model based on the density-matrix formalism that is in very good agreement with our experimental results.
We have observed an interference in four-wave mixing involving two Rydberg states that play the key role of near two-photon resonant intermediate levels. This interference, due to the coherence of the nonlinear process, can be explained either classically or quantum mechanically and it depends on the lasers' polarizations and detunings. We have performed calculations that are in very good agreement with the experimental data. Our results provide new information about the system, such as ionization rates of the Rydberg levels and the ratio of reduced matrix elements involved.
The interference between two different quantum-mechanical pathways for four-wave mixing in sodium vapor has been observed. The four-wave mixing was enhanced by two-photon resonance with the 5s state, for one pathway, and the 4d state, for the other. The phase of the interference could be varied continuously by varying laser frequencies, and constructive and destructive interference effects were studied. A model based on third-order perturbation theory gives a good description of the features observed.