Observation of field-induced resonances in four-wave mixing

Andrew R. Bogdan, Yehiam Prior, M. Dagenais +1 more

Alfred M. Levine, N. Chencinski, W. M. Schreiber +2 more

A nonperturbative semiclassical theory is presented for the treatment of four-wave mixing (FWM) in a four-level system. This treatment is based on a transformation to a generalized rotating frame followed by a numerical diagonalization of the resulting time-independent Hamiltonian. For strong fields, all resonant frequencies are shifted from the atomic (molecular) frequencies. Lines are split up in a way similar to the ac Stark effect for a two-level system, and for even stronger fields, the effect of stirring is observed for the first time in four-wave mixing. In addition, a new extra resonance appears which is induced by the saturating field. This field-induced resonance is the new member in the family of extra resonances (pressure induced, or stochastic fluctuation induced), and it should be observed whenever saturating fields interact with a multilevel atomic or molecular system.

Nadav Horesh, Yehiam Prior

An experimental observation of field-induced resonances in four-wave mixing is reported. In experiments on Na vapor near the D lines, when the input fields are strong, new resonances appear, confirming recent theoretical predictions based on a nonperturbative approach to wave-mixing processes. The analogy to and differences from the pressure-induced extra resonances are discussed.

Li Deng, E. W. Hagley, Jiping Wen +7 more

Sergei A Babin, Sergey I. Kablukov, U. Hinze +2 more

Resonant spectral structures of four-wave mixing (FWM) in molecular sodium are investigated. For a double- ? configuration with strong-weak-strong-weak fields, split components in FWM spectra induced by the strong pump fields are observed. It is shown that the split components merge into a single peak for a certain ratio of the strong field intensities. A correlation between the level-splitting effects and the saturation behavior of the FWM signal is experimentally demonstrated.

A. A. Panteleev, Paul F. Schippnick