Spectral properties of aV-type three-level atom driven by two bichromatic fields

Abstract

We theoretically investigate the spectral properties of a $V$-type three-level atom driven by two bichromatic fields with a common frequency difference. By decomposing the master equation using harmonic expansions and invoking quantum regression theorem, fluorescence and probe absorption spectra of the strong atomic transition are numerically calculated under the steady state condition. We find that both fluorescence and absorption spectra exhibit two interesting features, which are equidistant comblike structures and phase-dependent line splittings. In the comblike structures, each fluorescence peak can be made subnatural by manipulating the relative intensities of the coupling fields, while for the absorption lines only the central peak can be narrowed. Line splittings are induced by the relative phase delay between the envelopes of the amplitudes of the two bichromatic fields. Interestingly, we find that the manipulation of the relative phase delay results in the emergence of sharp subnatural dips in the absorption spectra. As a natural consequence of the subnatural absorption dips, absorption spectra in atomic vapors exhibit striking subnatural burning holes for the counterpropagating probe beam geometry.