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Chinese Physics B

Enhancement of Third-Order Self-Kerr Nonlinearity and Cross-Kerr Nonlinearity in Three-Level Atomic systems

Liu Zhi-Yuan, Yupeng Duan, Ying-Jie Du

Published May 20, 2026• 0 citations

Abstract

Abstract We theoretically investigate the self-nonlinear and cross-nonlinear responses of the Λ-type, V-type, and ladder-type three-level atomic systems. The analytical solutions of the cross-nonlinearity are obtained by using an iterative method. These analytical expressions reveal that the atomic decay rates and two-photon resonance are closely related to the cross-nonlinear response. For the Λ-type system, the relaxation rate between the ground-state sublevels determines the amplitude and linewidth of the cross-nonlinearity. For the ladder-type system, the lifetime of the upper excited state governs the amplitude and linewidth of the cross-nonlinearity. In both systems, the amplitude of the cross-nonlinearity is significantly enhanced, and the linewidth is greatly compressed simultaneously. In contrast, for the V-type three-level system, the amplitude and linewidth of the cross-nonlinearity are related to the spontaneous emission rate of the excited states, where neither the amplitude enhancement nor the linewidth compression is observed. We conclude that the cross-nonlinear response can reach or even exceed the linear response in the Λ-type system when the relaxation rate between the ground states is sufficiently small, or in the ladder-type system when the spontaneous emission rate of the upper excited state is sufficiently small. Compared with the crossnonlinearity, the self-nonlinearity is related to the Rabi frequency and detuning of the coupling field. Its amplitude decreases with the increase of the coupling Rabi frequency, while it can be increased to a certain extent with the increase of the coupling detuning. Our results provide a theoretical basis for the optimization and application of strong nonlinear effects in three-level atomic systems.

DOI: 10.1088/1674-1056/ae705d

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