Phase-controlled optical trap potential in a closed-loop atomic system

Abstract

The optical trap potential is studied in a four-level double-Λ closed-loop atomic system in the multiphoton resonance condition. We apply four femtosecond Gaussian laser beams to generate a closed-loop configuration. It is shown that the induced optical dipole force on the system dramatically depends on the relative phase of applied fields, and it switches from focusing to defocusing in the transverse direction, simply by properly changing the relative phase. Through special switching of the relative phase, the trapping potential splits into two positions, which has novel applications in trapping and manipulating the particles. Moreover, it is further demonstrated that trap depth can be manipulated by the relative phase. Finally, a maximum coherent population transfer is achieved for a special value of the relative phase of applied fields.