Delayed four- and six-wave mixing in a coherently prepared atomic ensemble

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the simultaneous observation of four- and six-wave mixing in cold cesium atoms, revealing distinct temporal behaviors and dependencies, supported by a simplified three-level atomic model.

Contribution

It reports the first simultaneous observation of four- and six-wave mixing in a coherently prepared atomic ensemble with detailed temporal and intensity analysis.

Findings

Different pulse shapes for each process

Distinct dependencies on excitation field intensities

Good agreement with a simplified three-level model

Abstract

We report on the simultaneous observation, by delayed Bragg diffraction, of four- and six-wave mixing processes in a coherently prepared atomic ensemble consisting of cold cesium atoms. For each diffracted order, we observe different temporal pulse shapes and dependencies with the intensities of the exciting fields, evidencing the different mechanisms involved in each process. The various observations are well described by a simplified analytical theory, which considers the atomic system as an ensemble of three-level atoms in {\Lambda} configuration.