Atomic and nuclear interference phenomena and their applications
Yelena Anatolyevna Kuznetsova
Abstract
In this work, interference and coherence phenomena, appearing in atomic and\nmolecular ensembles interacting with coherent light sources, as electromagnetically\ninduced transparency (EIT), coherent population trapping (CPT), and slow group\nvelocity of light are investigated. The goal of the project is to make the steps towards\nvarious applications of these phenomena, first, by studying them in solid media (which\nare the most advantageous for applications), second, by suggesting some novel applications\nsuch as CPT-based plasma diagnostics, and realization of new types of\nsolid-state lasers (based on suppression of excited-state absorption via EIT). The\nthird goal of the project is extension of coherence and interference effects well-known\nin optics to the gamma-ray range of frequencies and, correspondingly, from atomic to\nnuclear transitions. A particular technique of chirped pulse compression applied to\nM??ossbauer transitions is considered and the possibility of compression of M??ossbauer\nradiation into ultrashort gamma-ray pulses is analyzed.\nThe theoretical treatment of the interference and coherence effects is based on\nthe semiclassical description of atom-light interaction, which is sufficient for correct\nanalysis of the phenomena considered here. Coherent media are considered in two-,\nthree-, and four-level approximations while their interaction with light is studied both\nanalytically and numerically using the Maxwell-Bloch set of equations.