Quantum coherence and interference(QCI) effects have been studied for decades and are widely exploited in many areas. For media with QCI effect, the optical properties can change drastically, which leads to many interesting effects, such as coherent population trapping, electromagnetically induced transparency(EIT), lasing without population inversion(LWI) and so on. We have theoretically studied the pulsed regime of EIT. In particular, simulations of propagation of gaussian and 0 - pi co-propagating laser pulses in a medium consisting of 3-level Lambda-atoms have been performed. It has been found that, even at the two-photon resonance, the length of propagation for the 0 - pi pulses is much smaller than that for the Gaussian probe pulses. We explained such a behavior using the dark and bright basis and the dressed state basis. Some possible applications are discussed. We also investigated the collision-induced coherence of two decay channels along two optical transitions. Quantum interference will suppress the spontaneous emission. The degree of this suppression is measured by the branch ratio of these two transitions. Our preliminary calculations show that a significant decrease of the branching ratio with increase of electron densities is reproduced in the theory. We have developed a new variant of Raman spectroscopy with shaped femtosecond pulses. It has several advantages to be applied in multiscatterd media. It is based on change of the spectra of femtopulses due to Raman scattering (stimulated or coherent). The technique can be used for a broad range of applications from atomic and molecular optical and IR spectroscopy to spore detection and tissue microscopy. Finally, we have shown that Fano interference in the decay channels of three levels system can lead to considerably different absorption and emission profiles. We found that a coherence can be built up in the ground state doublet whose strength depends on a coupling parameter that arises from Fano interference. This can in principle lead to breaking of the detail balance between the absorption and emission processes in atomic systems.

In this work, interference and coherence phenomena, appearing in atomic and molecular ensembles interacting with coherent light sources, as electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT), coherent population trapping (CPT), and slow group velocity of light are investigated. The goal of the project is to make the steps towards various applications of these phenomena, first, by studying them in solid media (which are the most advantageous for applications), second, by suggesting some novel applications such as CPT-based plasma diagnostics, and realization of new types of solid-state lasers (based on suppression of excited-state absorption via EIT). The third goal of the project is extension of coherence and interference effects well-known in optics to the gamma-ray range of frequencies and, correspondingly, from atomic to nuclear transitions. A particular technique of chirped pulse compression applied to M??ossbauer transitions is considered and the possibility of compression of M??ossbauer radiation into ultrashort gamma-ray pulses is analyzed. The theoretical treatment of the interference and coherence effects is based on the semiclassical description of atom-light interaction, which is sufficient for correct analysis of the phenomena considered here. Coherent media are considered in two-, three-, and four-level approximations while their interaction with light is studied both analytically and numerically using the Maxwell-Bloch set of equations.

Orientador: Luis Eduardo Evangelista de Araujo / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Fisica Gleb Wataghin / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-14T22:09:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Soares_AntonioAugusto_D.pdf: 11187832 bytes, checksum: 3ffb3d078fef8dd053b760fc0342ec6f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / Resumo: Nesta tese apresentamos um estudo teórico da interação coerente entre trens de pulsos ultracurtos e sistemas atômicos simples de dois e três níveis, este último na configuração L. Primeiramente avaliamos a situação em que um trem de pulsos ultracurtos não só sonda um sistema de três níveis na configuração L, mas também leva o átomo à configuração do átomo vestido. Nessas condições estudamos o efeito do acúmulo coerente de excitação na transparência eletromagneticamente induzida (EIT) experimentada pelo trem de pulsos ultra-curtos. Mostramos que os parâmetros do trem de pulsos ( área do pulso, diferença de fase entre pulsos consecutivos e período de repetiçãco dos pulsos) determinam a dinâmica da formação da EIT. Em seguida estudamos os efeitos da propagação do trem de pulsos ultracurtos através de um meio atômico estendido, constituído por sistemas de dois e três níveis na configuraçãco L. Mostramos que no caso em que o meio é constituído por sistemas de dois níveis a frequência central dos pulsos é rapidamente removida devido à propagação, prejudicando o efeito de acúmulo coerente. Já para o meio constituído por sistemas de três níveis o efeito acumulativo é observado e coerência é transferida ao meio, levando a uma sobreposição linear entre os níveis fundamentais, sobreposição esta que está associada à formação da EIT. Após um número suficientemente grande de pulsos o meio se torna transparente aos pulsos subsequentes que se propagam sem sofrer alterações em seu perfil temporal e espectral. Outra situação que estudamos nesta tese é aquela onde o sistema atômico é excitado por um campo contínuo monocromático levando o átomo à configuração do "átomo vestido". Este sistema é, então, investigado por um trem de pulsos ultracurtos. Neste caso mostramos que a utilização do trem de pulsos ultracurtos permite a realização de espectroscopia de alta resolução dos estados atômicos vestidos induzidos pelo campo contínuo monocromático / Abstract: In this thesis we present a theoretical study about the coherent interaction between a train of ultrashort pulses with two- and three-level atomic systems, this last in the L configu-ration. Firstly, we investigated the situation at which a train of ultrashort pulses not only probes the three-level system in the L configuration, but also drives the atom to its dressed configura-tion. Under these conditions, we studied the effects of the coherent accumulation of excitation on the electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) of the train of ultrashort pulses. We showed that the pulse train parameters (area, repetition period, and phase between successive pulses) play a significant role in establishing EIT. Then, we study the effects of propagation through an extended sample of two- and three-level atoms. We showed that in the two-level case, absorption of the pulse¿s resonant frequency by the atoms quickly compromises the accumulation of excitation. In the three-level case, the accumulative effect occurs, and the pulse train transfers coherence between the two lower states of the atoms, driving population into a dark superposition state. Such a superposition is related to the EIT formation and after a large enough number of pulses, the medium becomes transparent to the driving pulses. Later pulses in the train propagate through the atomic medium with both their amplitude and temporal profile preserved. Another configuration that we investigated in this thesis is that at which the atomic system is excited by a monochromatic cw laser that drives the atom to its dressed configuration. Such a system is then probed by an ultrashort pulse train. In this case, we showed that an ultrashort pulse train can be used to perform high-resolution spectroscopy of dressed atomic states / Doutorado / Física Atômica e Molecular / Doutor em Ciências

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The coupling of light to ensembles of strongly interacting Rydberg atoms via electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) has emerged as a particularly promising approach towards quantum nonlinear optics, allowing freely propagating photons to acquire long-ranged effective interactions of unprecedented strength. This thesis explores different photon interaction mechanisms enabled by this general approach, and examines how these can be utilized for various different practical applications. Considering dissipative photon interactions, we first examine the effect of blockade-induced photon scattering on the spatial coherence of collective Rydberg excitations stored in an atomic medium, and how this influences the efficiency of photon storage and retrieval. Based on this developed understanding, we examine the performance of single-photon switching capabilities enabled by dissipative scattering and establish optimized switching protocols over a range of parameters. We then generalize this to consider the many-body decoherence of multiple stored excitations. Here we identify a correlated coherence protection mechanism in which photon scattering from one excitation can preserve the spatial coherence of all others in the medium, and consider the utility of this effect for implementing robust single-photon subtraction. We then outline a new approach towards coherent quantum nonlinear optics via Rydberg-EIT, in which the emergent photon interaction features intrinsically suppressed photon losses. The underlying idea exploits Rydberg blockade to modify rather than break EIT conditions for multiple photons in close proximity, the effect of which alters the underlying dispersion relation of light propagation in a coherent fashion. We devise a specific implementation of this general mechanism fostering a reflective optical nonlinearity and discuss how this can enable efficient single-photon routing with a multitude of unique practical applications.

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This thesis set out to investigate light storage based on dynamic electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in a room-temperature atomic ensemble of rubidium as a means to provide a quantum memory for single-photons created by a single rubidium atom coupled to a high-finesse optical resonator. Setting up the light storage medium presented a new addition to the research group's portfolio of experimental techniques and led to investigations of EIT, slow light and stored light in warm rubidium-87 vapour. Lambda level schemes connecting Zeeman or hyperfine substates on the D₁ and D₂ lines were addressed in rubidium vapour cells containing different buffer gases and different isotopic fractions of rubidium-87 and rubidium-85. Single beam spectroscopy with a weak probe was used to characterise the vapour cells. A numerical method to fit the D line spectrum to a theoretical model to include isotopic fractions and collisional broadening of a buffer gas has been implemented. Temperature and isotopic fractions could be reliably extracted from the fit parameters. For an offset-stabilisation of two lasers to address a lambda level scheme connecting the two different hyperfine groundstates in rubidium a phase locked loop including a frequency divider has been designed and implemented. Light storage and retrieval has been demonstrated using a Zeeman scheme on the D1 line. Two microsecond long classical light pulses containing one million photons on average were stored and retrieved with an efficiency of 15% after a delay of one microsecond. Several methods of attenuating the strong co-propagating control laser beam to allow for lowering the signal pulse intensity in future experiments are discussed.

In this thesis we study light-matter coherence phenomena related to the interaction of a coherent laser field and the so-called Λ-system, a three-level quantum system (e.g., an atom). We observe electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT), slow and stored light in hot rubidium vapor. For example, a 6 μs Gaussian pulse propagate at a velocity of ~1 km/s (to be compared with the normal velocity of 300 000 km/s). Dynamic changes of the control parameter allows us to slow down a pulse to a complete stop, store it for ~100 μs, and then release it. During the storage time, and also during the release process, some properties of the light pulse can be changed, e.g., frequency chirping of the pulse is obtained by means of Zeeman shifting the energy levels of the Λ-system. If, bichromatic continuous light fields are applied we observe overtone generation in the beating signal, and a narrow `dip' in overtone generation efficiency on two-photon resonance, narrower than the `coherent population trapping' transparency. The observed light-matter coherence phenomena are explained theoretically from first principles, using the Lindblad master equation, in conjunction with the Maxwell's equations. Furthermore, we analyze an optical delay-line based on EIT and show that there is in principle (besides decoherence) no fundamental limitation, but the usefulness today is scant. The combination of EIT and a photonic crystal cavity is inquired into, and we show that the quality value of a small resonator (area of 2.5λ×2.5λ with a missing central rod) can be enhanced by a factor of 500 due to the increased modal density close to two-photon resonance. Open system effects (decoherence effects) are thoroughly investigated using a coherence vector formalism, furthermore, a vector form of the Lindblad equation is derived. Specifically we find an open system channel that lead to slow light and gain. / QC 20100812