Abstract

We report on novel transient phenomena in coherent optical spectroscopy of neutral atoms in a magneto-optical trap. The transients have been observed by sweeping the frequency of a probelaser beam across a hyperfine absorption line of trapped rubidium atoms in a time on the order of the lifetime of the excited state, see Fig. 1. The graph shows that a series of damped oscillations containing periods of amplified intensity is excited after the laser frequency has passed the resonance. The narrow linewidth of trapped atoms makes it feasible to measure the transient effects within accessible time scales considering modulation and detection of signals.

© 1996 IEEE