Transient response of two-level atoms to bichromatic optical field excitation

Thesis/Dissertation · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1992

OSTI ID:7068239

Wu, Q

The transient response of two-level atoms to bichromatic optical field excitation is studied both theoretically and experimentally. The bichromatic optical field consists of a strong pump frequency component and a relatively weak perturber frequency component. Both pump and perturber fields are near-resonant with the atomic transition. Theoretical investigation covers the atomic dynamics under wide-ranging bichromatic excitation conditions. It is shown that the atomic dynamics is very complex. Generally speaking, the strong pump field tends to stabilize the atoms against the influence of the perturber field. Exceptions occur when the perturber field is detuned from the pump field by the Rabi frequency of the pump or its subharmonics. In addition, it is found that the atomic evolution is sensitive to the initial relative phase of the pump and perturber field. An experiment has been performed using a [sup 174]Yb atomic beam. The bichromatic field is in the strong-pump-weak-perturber regime, where the pump field is always resonant with the [sup 174]Yb atomic transition. Optical mutation of a dressed-atom transition is observed for the first time. Also, dressed-state polarization of initially ground-state atoms is realized when the perturber field is detuned from the atomic transition by the Rabi frequency of the pump and the two excitation fields have some specific initial relative phase. In both cases, the experimental results are in good agreement with the predictions of the theory.

• Research Organization: Oregon Univ., Eugene, OR (United States)
• OSTI ID: 7068239
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

664200* -- Spectra of Atoms & Molecules & their Interactions with Photons-- (1992-)
74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS
ATOMIC BEAMS
BEAMS
ENERGY-LEVEL TRANSITIONS
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
FREQUENCY DEPENDENCE
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
ISOTOPES
NUCLEI
OPTICAL PUMPING
PUMPING
RARE EARTH ISOTOPES
RARE EARTH NUCLEI
STABLE ISOTOPES
YTTERBIUM 174
YTTERBIUM ISOTOPES