Theoretical study of the control of absorption, transparency, and amplification in a microwave- and RF-driven four-level (Δ + ∇)-type closed-contour interaction system

Abstract

This paper describes a theoretical study of the optical responses of an atomic medium to the probe field in a four-level (Δ + ∇)-type closed-contour interaction system driven by two pump laser fields (P1, P2), one probe laser field (Pr) and two microwave or radio frequency (RF) coupling fields (L, U). Here, L and U are considered to connect the forbidden electric dipole transitions, i.e. two hyperfine ground states of the Δ subsystem and two hyperfine excited states of the ∇ subsystem, respectively. Since each subsystem is a closed-loop system, relative phases are thought to be present between the optical fields (pump and probe fields), and the microwave or RF fields. The manipulation of the quantum coherence of the system by the strengths of coupling fields along with the relative phases is demonstrated in terms of the changes occurring in the absorption of the probe field by the medium. The probe absorption and dispersion profiles are extracted by numerically solving the optical Bloch equations for the system under steady-state conditions. In this study, we start by illuminating the system with the probe only, and then, by applying the pump fields and the coupling fields one by one, the changes in the absorptive and dispersive probe line profiles are investigated for two distinct cases that depend on the relative strengths of the pump fields, e.g. when P2 is stronger than P1 and vice versa. Furthermore, the individual effects of the strengths and phases of the coupling fields on the probe absorption, transparency and amplification are also explored for both cases. All the changes that appear in the probe signal as a result of the application of different fields are explained by the modified interaction fields or the corresponding effective Rabi frequencies obtained from the partial dressed-state analysis.