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Acta Physica Sinica

Narrowing the absorption linewidth and its limitation in a four-level inverted-Y atomic system

Feng-Qing Di, Ning Jia, Jing Qian

Published Jan 1, 2022• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

Depending on a four-level inverted-Y atomic system, we demonstrate the limitation of linewidth-narrowing for the probe absorption spectrum in the electromagnetic induced absorption platform. Thanks to the use of an auxiliary control field which couples one hyperfine ground state and one middle-excited state we show that the linewidth limitation can be constrained by a coherence decay rate between two hyperfine ground states, rather than by the decay rate between the ground and the excited states as in previous Ladder schemes. That fact makes the theoretically-predicted absorption linewidth at least two orders of magnitude narrower. By using a suitable adjustment for the control-field amplitude and the detuning we numerically show that an extremely-narrowed probe absorption spectrum accompanied by a higher spectra contrast can be obtained, which confirms well with our theoretical predictions. We study the transient time response to the absorption spectrum and show that a relatively longer response time arises due to the small coherence decay rate between two hyperfine ground states. Furthermore, we reduce the influence on linewidth-narrowing from the Doppler effect via an optimized design of lasers, and reveal that no Doppler-free effect exists due to the lack of three-photon process. Our results may pave a route to the development of high-resolution spectroscopy in current experiments.

DOI
10.7498/aps.71.20220430

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中国物理B：英文版•Jan 1, 2012•1 citation
Depending on a four-level inverted-Y atomic system, we demonstrate the limitation of linewidth-narrowing for the probe absorption spectrum in the electromagnetic induced absorption platform. Thanks to the use of an auxiliary control field which couples one hyperfine ground state and one middle-excited state we show that the linewidth limitation can be constrained by a coherence decay rate between two hyperfine ground states, rather than by the decay rate between the ground and the excited states as in previous Ladder schemes. That fact makes the theoretically-predicted absorption linewidth at least two orders of magnitude narrower. By using a suitable adjustment for the control-field amplitude and the detuning we numerically show that an extremely-narrowed probe absorption spectrum accompanied by a higher spectra contrast can be obtained, which confirms well with our theoretical predictions. We study the transient time response to the absorption spectrum and show that a relatively longer response time arises due to the small coherence decay rate between two hyperfine ground states. Furthermore, we reduce the influence on linewidth-narrowing from the Doppler effect via an optimized design of lasers, and reveal that no Doppler-free effect exists due to the lack of three-photon process. Our results may pave a route to the development of high-resolution spectroscopy in current experiments.
Spectroscopy of Rydberg states has become a popular platform for quantum sensing, with the most common readout scheme being two-photon electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) using counterpropagating laser beams. In this scheme, the energy resolution of the Rydberg state is set by the spectral linewidth of the EIT feature. While selection criteria for the two-photon resonance can narrow the linewidth to the order of the Rydberg state decay rate for a single atom, the Doppler shift from thermal velocity of the atoms broadens the ensemble linewidth to the order of the decay rate of the intermediate state. Here, we derive an analytic expression for the Doppler residual line shape in the low-power limit and corroborate the results with experiment. For Rb, we find the full-width-at-half-maximum linewidth limit to be 1.84 MHz when scanning the coupling laser and measure an experimental linewidth of 2.04 MHz. These linewidths are around a factor of 2 narrower than previous theoretical estimates as well as previously reported measured linewidths. With this, we demonstrate the most precise two-photon energy resolution of a Rydberg state in thermal vapor to date. We then map out broadening mechanisms near this limit.
We use the phenomenon of electromagnetically induced transparency in a three-level atomic system for hyperfine spectroscopy of upper states that are not directly coupled to the ground state. The three levels form a ladder system: the probe laser couples the ground state to the lower excited state, while the control laser couples the two upper states. As the frequency of the control laser is scanned, the probe absorption shows transparency peaks whenever the control laser is resonant with a hyperfine level of the upper state. As an illustration of the technique, we measure hyperfine structure in the 7 S 1/2 states of 85 Rb and 87 Rb, and obtain an improvement of more than an order of magnitude over previous values.
This paper investigates the effects of spontaneously induced coherence on absorption properties in a nearly equispaced three-level ladder-type system driven by two coherent fields. It find that the absorption properties of this system with the probe field applied on the lower transition can be significantly modified if this coherence is optimized. In the case of small spontaneous decay rate in the upper excited state, it finds that such coherence does not destroy the electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). Nevertheless, the absorption peak on both sides of zero detuning and the linewidth of absorption line become larger and narrower than those in the case corresponding to the effects of spontaneously induced coherence; while in the case of large decay rate, it finds that, instead of EIT with low resonant absorption, a sharp absorption peak at resonance appears. That is, electromagnetically induced absorption in the nearly equispaced ladder-type system can occur due to such coherent effects.
We study the influence of laser profile on the linewidth of the optical spectrum of multi-photon resonance phenomena. First, we investigate the dependence of the absorption spectrum on the laser profile in a two-level system. Thanks to the Laguerre–Gaussian field, the linewidth of the one-photon optical pumping and two-photon absorption peaks are explicitly narrower than that obtained with a Gaussian field. In the next section, it is shown that, compared to the Gaussian fields, the Laguerre–Gaussian ones reduce the linewidth of the optical spectrum in the coherent population trapping. Interestingly, it turns out that the use of a Laguerre–Gaussian beam makes the linewidth of the spectrum narrower as compared with a Gaussian one in Doppler-broadened electromagnetically induced transparency. Moreover, we study the effect of the laser profile on the Autler–Townes doublet structure in the absorption spectrum for a laser-driven four-level atomic system. We also consider the different values of the Laguerre–Gaussian mode beam waist, and, perhaps more remarkably, we find that for the small waist values, the Autler–Townes doublet can be removed and a prominent narrow central peak appears in the absorption spectrum. Finally, we investigate the effect of the laser profile on the linewidth of the sub-natural three-photon absorption peak of double dark resonance. The differences in the linewidth are quite large, offering potential applications in metrology and isotope separation methods. Our results can be used for super ultra-high resolution laser spectroscopy and to improve the resolution of the technology of isotope/isomer separation and photo-biology even at essential overlap of the spectra of the different particles.
We investigate the steady optical response of a coherently driven five-level M-type atomic system in three different situations. When all three coupling fields have the same zero detuning, we just find one deep transparency window accompanied by a steep normal dispersion in the probe absorption and dispersion spectra. When two coupling fields are detuned from the relevant transitions to the same extent, however, a second deep transparency window may be observed in the presence of a narrow absorption line of linewidth ∼ 50 kHz. In this case, two single-photon far-detuned transitions can be replaced by a two-photon resonant transition, so the five-level M system in fact reduces into a four-level quasi-Λ system. Finally, we note that no deep transparency windows and no narrow absorption lines can be found when all three coupling fields have unequal detunings.
We investigate the steady optical response of a coherently driven five-level M-type atomic system in three different situations.When all three coupling fields have the same zero detuning,we just find one deep transparency window accompanied by a steep normal dispersion in the probe absorption and dispersion spectra.When two coupling fields are detuned from the relevant transitions to the same extent,however,a second deep transparency window may be observed in the presence of a narrow absorption line of linewidth ～50 kHz.In this case,two single-photon far-detuned transitions can be replaced by a two-photon resonant transition,so the five-level M system in fact reduces into a four-level quasi-Λ system.Finally,we note that no deep transparency windows and no narrow absorption lines can be found when all three coupling fields have unequal detunings.