Theory of the cancellation of 4-photon resonances by an off-resonance 3-photon cancellation

M. Elk, P. Lambropoulos, X. Tang

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearch

    Abstract

    We present a complete account of our recent work [Phys. Rev. A 44, 31 (1991)] in which we investigate the theory of cancellation by interference between the absorption of three fundamental laser photons and one third-harmonic photon. The theory is formulated in terms of the density matrix so as to take detunings, dephasing, and laser bandwidth into account. The result is a theory of cancellation for finite detuning that explains how four-photon resonances can be canceled by a three-photon mechanism if there is an atomic level at near-three-photon resonance. The treatment is extended to focused beams and the interplay between phase matching and cancellation is investigated. We obtain explicit conditions for cancellation to occur, and perform calculations pertaining to a recent experiment where cancellation of 4 + 1 resonantly enhanced multiphoton ionization has been observed.
    Original languageEnglish
    JournalPhysical Review A
    Volume46
    Issue number1
    Pages (from-to)465-478
    ISSN2469-9926
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1992

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