Coherent Laser-Atom Interactions With Partially Coherent Laser Fields

摘要

In this research program, the investigators have explored the role of fluctuations of a laser field on coherent interactions between the laser field and simple atomic systems. A key feature of these experiments is their ability to provide measurements of complex nonlinear optical interactions which are sufficient for direct, quantitative comparison with theory. The main thrust of the present work has been the study of non-Markovian field statistics, present in experiments that use multiple, time-delayed input beams to drive the nonlinear system. The specific interaction studied was Phase-Conjugate Four-Wave Mixing in an optically-pumped beam of atomic sodium, which the researchers measured as a function of laser bandwidth, Rabi frequency, and delay time between the pump and probe beams. The investigators have also calculated the expected signal strength through numerical integration of the Optical Bloch Equations. Experimental and numerical results are in very good agreement. The investigators also studied theoretically two-photon absorption with correlated, time-delayed input fields, and provided the first experimental confirmation of the fundamental theory of Phase-Conjugate Four-Wave Mixing with monochromatic fields in a simple atomic system.