The effect of probe coherence and atomic coherence on the response of an open lambda-type pump–probe system

Abstract

The response of a coherently prepared four-level λ-type system, interacting with two electromagnetic fields in a Doppler-free pump–probe configuration is analytically formulated. Under density matrix formalism the probe coherence (field-dependent phase) and atomic coherence (field-independent phase) are introduced through the off-diagonal matrix elements. The coherent effects on probe response is investigated for probe coherence, as well as for the driving contribution (coherence) of the pump field. We show how probe coherence can modify the Rabi splitting and two-photon absorption, through shifting and broadening of spectral lines for on- and off-resonance pumping, respectively. In addition, we report on the enhancement of absorptionless dispersion (i.e. refractive index for on and around probe resonance) and two-photon absorption, via coherent control of the driving contribution of the pump field.