Numerical exploration of coherent excitation in three-level systems

A great deal of effort has been applied to understanding population dynamics within a variety of coherent excitation schemes. The goal in such studies has been to understand the conditions necessary for efficient transfer of population from one state to another. While many theoretical treatments include the effects of natural lifetimes that are present in any given system, some neglect this important aspect when considering specific cases. Adiabatic approximations are also widely made. Additionally, it is often difficult to envision how the different parameters controlling efficient population transfer are interrelated or even which parameters are the most critical, especially when the decay lifetimes are taken into account. This work describes a numerical study of coherent excitation applied to a Rb-87 ladder system where spontaneous decay rates are included, and adiabaticity is not assumed. A useful method is introduced to explore the interdependence of various excitation parameters. The efficiency of population transfer as a function of several experimentally controllable parameters is explored, and other general trends are summarized.