Population Transfer between Two Quantum States by Piecewise Chirping of Femtosecond Pulses: Theory and Experiment

Journal Article · Fri Mar 14 04:00:00 EDT 2008 · Physical Review Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVLETT.100.103004· OSTI ID:21123737

Zhdanovich, S ^[1]; Shapiro, E A ^[2]; Shapiro, M; Hepburn, J W; Milner, V ^[1]

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1. Departments of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver (Canada)
2. Chemistry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver (Canada)

We propose and experimentally demonstrate the method of population transfer by piecewise adiabatic passage between two quantum states. Coherent excitation of a two-level system with a train of ultrashort laser pulses is shown to reproduce the effect of an adiabatic passage, conventionally achieved with a single frequency-chirped pulse. By properly adjusting the amplitudes and phases of the pulses in the excitation pulse train, we achieve complete and robust population transfer to the target state. The piecewise nature of the process suggests a possibility for the selective population transfer in complex quantum systems.

• OSTI ID: 21123737
• Journal Information: Physical Review Letters, Journal Name: Physical Review Letters Journal Issue: 10 Vol. 100; ISSN 0031-9007; ISSN PRLTAO
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
AMPLITUDES
ENERGY LEVELS
EXCITATION
LASERS
PULSES
QUANTUM MECHANICS