Controlling Atomic Excitation with Frequency-Modulated Lasers

The process of rapid adiabatic passage has proved to be an instrumental tool in atomic physics. However, processes such as using the ARP force, which is when the force generated between the complete absorption and re-emission of photons from two counter-propagating frequency chirped lasers, require near 100% excitation probabilities. We are exploring how to control atomic excitation with frequency-modulated lasers in multi-level systems where processes such as rapid passage are near but not perfectly 100%.