COLLISIONAL TRANSFER OF ELECTRONIC-STATE COHERENCE

The role of collision-induced transfer of electronic state coherence on the spectral response of an atomic vapor is investigated. It is shown that such collisional effects can lead to the appearance of narrow resonances in the nonlinear spectroscopy of three-level systems. Collisional transfer between different multipoles of electronic state coherence is shown to lead to a breakdown of several percent in Becquerels relation between the Faraday rotation and dispersion of a vapor. All calculations are carried out in the impact limit of pressure broadening theory. Particular emphasis is given to the order in which the various averages over the velocity distributions of both the active atoms and perturbers must be performed. In particular, for the effects described herein, the various collisional transfer rates vanish when averaged over the active atom velocity distribution. It is essential, therefore, to obtain the final line-shape formulas, including velocity-dependent collisional transfer rates, before carrying out the average over the active atom velocity distribution. The experimental observation of these spectral features would provide direct evidence for the existence of these collisional transfer processes. © 1995 The American Physical Society.