Experimental study of fluorescence spectrum of two-level atoms driven by bichromatic optical field excitation

Yifu Zhu, A. Lezama, Qilin Wu +1 more

Jason R. Bochinski

Qilin Wu

Amitabh Joshi, Shoukry S. Hassan

We present analytical results for the steady-state resonance fluorescence spectrum produced by a driven two-level atom excited under two strong coherent fields in the presence of a broadband squeezed vacuum. Here the central frequency of the squeezed vacuum is considered to be resonant as well as off-resonant with the average driving field frequency while maintaining resonance between the atomic transition frequency and the average driving field frequency. We observe a ringing phenomenon in the fluorescence spectrum due to the small frequency difference in the bichromatic field and this phenomenon is found to be sensitive to the detuning of the carrier frequency of squeezed vacuum with respect to the central frequency of the bichromatic field.

Peng Zhou, S. Swain, Z. Ficek

The steady-state resonance fluorescence spectrum of a two-level atom driven by a bichromatic field in a broadband squeezed vacuum is studied. When the carrier frequency of the squeezed vacuum is tuned to the frequency of the central spectral line, anomalous spectral features, such as hole burning and dispersive profiles, can occur at the central line. We show that these features appear for wider, and experimentally more convenient, ranges of the parameters than in the case of monochromatic excitation. The absence of a coherent spectral component at the central line makes any experimental attempt to observe these features much easier. We also discuss the general features of the spectrum. When the carrier frequency of the squeezed vacuum is tuned to the first odd or even sidebands, the spectrum is asymmetric and only the sidebands are sensitive to phase. For appropriate choices of the phase the linewidths of only the odd or even sidebands can be reduced. A dressed-state interpretation is provided.

Qilin Wu, Daniel J. Gauthier, THOMAS W. MOSSBERG

We experimentally investigate the transient dynamics of two-level atoms driven by a bichromatic optical excitation field when the bichromatic field is configured to contain a strong resonant component and a weaker nonresonant perturber component. We concentrate on the experimental situation in which the two-level atoms are prepared in an eigenstate (dressed state) of the coupled atom-resonant field system prior to exposure to the perturber field. We experimentally demonstrate perturber-field-induced, optical nutation of the dressed-state populations. We show how nutation of the dressed-state populations manifests itself in the fluorescence signal of the transiently driven atoms. We observe that the detuning of the perturber field from transitions between the dressed states of the atom-resonant field system plays the same role in determining the character of the dressed-state optical nutation as the atom-field detuning in the case of the ordinary optical nutation of atomic populations. Our experiments demonstrate the utility of the dressed-atom picture in understanding the complex dynamics of bichromatically driven atoms in a variety of circumstances.