Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Journal of Nanophotonics

Analysis of laser-induced transient population gratings by different types of exciting pulse

Shuanggen Zhang, Shengdong Li, Yangbo Bai, Kai Huang

Published Mar 24, 2023• 4 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Motivated by atomic response to different initial coherent optical fields, we comparatively studied transient population grating (TPG) induced by successive pulse train. Time delay and pump pulse duration dependence of TPG is achieved by numerically solving the density matrix equations. Results reveal that the creation and erasure of TPG is possible by choosing the appropriate pulse parameters, which is illustrated by Bloch sphere model and quantitative validation. To obtain desired large grating amplitude for rectangular pulse, the allowed pulse duration can be extended to one order wider than that of Gaussian pulse. Population grating can be erased to near zero by a third pulse with time delay by an odd multiple of half the pulse width, and it also can be erased further to recover atom assembly back to the initial state by a fourth pulse with time delay equal to an integer multiple of pulse width. Atomic behaviors excited by different types of pulse presented here may be significant to manipulate TPG during coherent light-matter interaction.

DOI
10.1117/1.jnp.17.016013

Related papers

Optical coherent transients induced by time-delayed fluctuating pulses: Three-pulse transients

Vladimir Finkelstein, P. R. Berman

A theoretical analysis of the optical coherent transients that arise when a sample of two-level atoms is irradiated by a sequence of three broad-bandwidth pulses is presented. The first two pulses have a relative delay time of order of the correlation time of the pulse fluctuations and are sent into an atomic vapor from different directions. These pulses, whose temporal width is much greater than the delay time, can be correlated with one another and can be strong enough to saturate the two-level atomic transition. The third pulse is weak, noncorrelated with the first two, and is delayed in time so that it does not overlap them. We present a detailed examination of the transient signal that is produced when the third pulse is scattered by the spatial gratings in the population difference of atoms created by the first two pulses. Taking into account the effects of inhomogeneous and homogeneous broadening, we calculate the intensity of the transient signal, emitted in different directions, as a function of delay time. The signal is found to depend dramatically on the intensities of the excitation pulses. It is shown that, for strong excitation pulses, there is a direct dependence of the signal on the cross-correlation time of pulses ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\tau}}}_{\mathit{c}}^{12}$ that does not exist when the pulses are weak. In particular, the strongest signals exhibit a peak of width of order ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\tau}}}_{\mathit{c}}^{12}$. This peak can have a very narrow dip near its maximum whose width is much smaller than ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\tau}}}_{\mathit{c}}^{12}$, if the pulses are fully correlated. We develop a representation of the time evolution of the Bloch vector of a two-level atom, driven by time-delayed pulses, that enables us to explain our results. In this representation, the two time-delayed pulses are replaced by two fully overlapping pulses having some effective amplitudes and atomic field detunings.

Physical Review A•Jun 1, 1990•11 citations

Subwavelength population density gratings in resonant medium created by few-cycle pulses

Rostislav M. Arkhipov, Mikhail V. Arkhipov, A. V. Pakhomov +4 more

We consider theoretically recently proposed a new possibility of creation, erasing and ultrafast control of population density grating. Such grating can be created in resonant medium when ultrashort pulses with duration smaller than relaxation times in the resonant medium (coherent light matter interactions) propagate without overlapping in this medium. Possible applications in the ultrafast optics such as optical switcher and laser beam deflector are discussed.

Journal of Physics Conference Series•Nov 1, 2017•0 citations

Population grating induced by time-delayed, correlated, broadband light pulses in the strong-field regime

P. Tchénio, Anne Débarre, J. Keller +1 more

Formation of coherent transients by incoherent light pulses has stimulated renewed interest in time-resolved coherent spectroscopy. Standard theories conveniently account for the weak-field regime experiments, but they fail to interpret the power effects that occur during resonant excitation of a sample by time-delayed, correlated, broadband laser pulses. We report on a new approach to this problem. We have been able to determine the expectation value of the population grating induced by two time-delayed, correlated, broadband light pulses under the limitation that one of the fields is weak. We have developed a diagrammatic technique that seems promising for the calculation of actual coherent-transient signals in the strong-field regime.

Journal of the Optical Society of America B•Jun 1, 1988•11 citations

Coherent control and creation of population gratings for a pair of attosecond pulses in a resonant medium based on one-dimensional rectangular quantum wells

Rostislav M. Arkhipov, P. Belov, Mikhail V. Arkhipov +2 more

Attosecond pulses can be used to create and control coherence in resonant media, since their duration is shorter than the population relaxation times T1 and medium polarization T2. Previously, the possibility of creating and ultrafast control of electromagnetically induced gratings (EMIG) of atomic populations in a resonant medium was shown using a sequence of extremely short light pulses, when the pulses coherently interact with the medium and do not simultaneously overlap in the medium. These studies were carried out in various approximations, when a finite number of energy levels of the medium is taken into account, or when the pulse amplitude is small. In this paper, based on a direct numerical solution of the time dependent Schredinger equation without the indicated approximations, we study the possibility of ultrafast coherent control of populations and the creation of an EMIG by a pair of attosecond pulses in a multilevel resonant medium with a low density of particles. The medium is modeled using a one-dimensional rectangular potential well with infinitely high walls. The studies performed show the possibility of ultrafast coherent control of the properties of resonant media based on quantum wells using attosecond pulses. Keywords: electromagnetically induced gratings, coherent interaction, extremely short pulses, unipolar pulses, attosecond pulses, medium coherence.

Оптика и спектроскопия•Jan 1, 2022•4 citations

Ultrafast creation and control of population density gratings via ultraslow polarization waves

Rostislav M. Arkhipov, Mikhail V. Arkhipov, Ihar Babushkin +3 more

In the regime of resonant coherent light-matter interaction, light pulses may interact with each other indirectly via a polarization wave created by the other pulse. We show that such interaction allows fast creation and erasing of high-contrast dynamic population density gratings, as well as control of their period in a few-cycle regime. Our scheme uses counter-propagating optical pulses, which do not cross each other in the medium. The mechanism is able to work with pulse durations up to the single-cycle limit. Somewhat surprisingly, ultrafast grating wave vector control requires the generation of polarization waves with the phase velocity much smaller than that of light.

Optics Letters•Oct 21, 2016•58 citations

Formation and erasure of population difference gratings in the coherent interaction of a resonant medium with extremely short optical pulses

Rostislav M. Arkhipov, Mikhail V. Arkhipov, Ihar Babushkin +1 more

In the regime of coherent interaction of short optical pulses with a resonant medium, which is implemented with a pulse duration shorter than the relaxation times in the medium, the formation of population gratings can occur without overlapping the pulses therein. In this case, there are new possibilities for controlling optical pulses, which are especially pronounced for extremely short pulses. It is shown that, with the proper choice of the parameters of a sequence of extremely short optical pulses, not only the formation of population gratings, but also their erasure are possible. It is demonstrated that this effect can be used for the creation of an ultrahigh-speed optical deflector.

Optics and Spectroscopy•Nov 1, 2016•14 citations
Motivated by atomic response to different initial coherent optical fields, we comparatively studied transient population grating (TPG) induced by successive pulse train. Time delay and pump pulse duration dependence of TPG is achieved by numerically solving the density matrix equations. Results reveal that the creation and erasure of TPG is possible by choosing the appropriate pulse parameters, which is illustrated by Bloch sphere model and quantitative validation. To obtain desired large grating amplitude for rectangular pulse, the allowed pulse duration can be extended to one order wider than that of Gaussian pulse. Population grating can be erased to near zero by a third pulse with time delay by an odd multiple of half the pulse width, and it also can be erased further to recover atom assembly back to the initial state by a fourth pulse with time delay equal to an integer multiple of pulse width. Atomic behaviors excited by different types of pulse presented here may be significant to manipulate TPG during coherent light-matter interaction.
A theoretical analysis of the optical coherent transients that arise when a sample of two-level atoms is irradiated by a sequence of three broad-bandwidth pulses is presented. The first two pulses have a relative delay time of order of the correlation time of the pulse fluctuations and are sent into an atomic vapor from different directions. These pulses, whose temporal width is much greater than the delay time, can be correlated with one another and can be strong enough to saturate the two-level atomic transition. The third pulse is weak, noncorrelated with the first two, and is delayed in time so that it does not overlap them. We present a detailed examination of the transient signal that is produced when the third pulse is scattered by the spatial gratings in the population difference of atoms created by the first two pulses. Taking into account the effects of inhomogeneous and homogeneous broadening, we calculate the intensity of the transient signal, emitted in different directions, as a function of delay time. The signal is found to depend dramatically on the intensities of the excitation pulses. It is shown that, for strong excitation pulses, there is a direct dependence of the signal on the cross-correlation time of pulses ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\tau}}}_{\mathit{c}}^{12}$ that does not exist when the pulses are weak. In particular, the strongest signals exhibit a peak of width of order ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\tau}}}_{\mathit{c}}^{12}$. This peak can have a very narrow dip near its maximum whose width is much smaller than ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\tau}}}_{\mathit{c}}^{12}$, if the pulses are fully correlated. We develop a representation of the time evolution of the Bloch vector of a two-level atom, driven by time-delayed pulses, that enables us to explain our results. In this representation, the two time-delayed pulses are replaced by two fully overlapping pulses having some effective amplitudes and atomic field detunings.
Formation of coherent transients by incoherent light pulses has stimulated renewed interest in time-resolved coherent spectroscopy. Standard theories conveniently account for the weak-field regime experiments, but they fail to interpret the power effects that occur during resonant excitation of a sample by time-delayed, correlated, broadband laser pulses. We report on a new approach to this problem. We have been able to determine the expectation value of the population grating induced by two time-delayed, correlated, broadband light pulses under the limitation that one of the fields is weak. We have developed a diagrammatic technique that seems promising for the calculation of actual coherent-transient signals in the strong-field regime.
Attosecond pulses can be used to create and control coherence in resonant media, since their duration is shorter than the population relaxation times T1 and medium polarization T2. Previously, the possibility of creating and ultrafast control of electromagnetically induced gratings (EMIG) of atomic populations in a resonant medium was shown using a sequence of extremely short light pulses, when the pulses coherently interact with the medium and do not simultaneously overlap in the medium. These studies were carried out in various approximations, when a finite number of energy levels of the medium is taken into account, or when the pulse amplitude is small. In this paper, based on a direct numerical solution of the time dependent Schredinger equation without the indicated approximations, we study the possibility of ultrafast coherent control of populations and the creation of an EMIG by a pair of attosecond pulses in a multilevel resonant medium with a low density of particles. The medium is modeled using a one-dimensional rectangular potential well with infinitely high walls. The studies performed show the possibility of ultrafast coherent control of the properties of resonant media based on quantum wells using attosecond pulses. Keywords: electromagnetically induced gratings, coherent interaction, extremely short pulses, unipolar pulses, attosecond pulses, medium coherence.
In the regime of resonant coherent light-matter interaction, light pulses may interact with each other indirectly via a polarization wave created by the other pulse. We show that such interaction allows fast creation and erasing of high-contrast dynamic population density gratings, as well as control of their period in a few-cycle regime. Our scheme uses counter-propagating optical pulses, which do not cross each other in the medium. The mechanism is able to work with pulse durations up to the single-cycle limit. Somewhat surprisingly, ultrafast grating wave vector control requires the generation of polarization waves with the phase velocity much smaller than that of light.
In the regime of coherent interaction of short optical pulses with a resonant medium, which is implemented with a pulse duration shorter than the relaxation times in the medium, the formation of population gratings can occur without overlapping the pulses therein. In this case, there are new possibilities for controlling optical pulses, which are especially pronounced for extremely short pulses. It is shown that, with the proper choice of the parameters of a sequence of extremely short optical pulses, not only the formation of population gratings, but also their erasure are possible. It is demonstrated that this effect can be used for the creation of an ultrahigh-speed optical deflector.