dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaCreation of coherent atomic superpositions by fractional STIRAP
| Authors | N. V. Vitanov, K. -A. Suominen, B. W. Shore |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | quant-ph/9811079 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/9811079 |
Abstract
We discuss a simple scheme for preparing atoms and molecules in an arbitrary preselected coherent superposition of quantum states. The technique, which we call fractional stimulated Raman adiabatic passage ({\it f-STIRAP}), is based upon (incomplete) adiabatic population transfer between an initial state $\psi_1$ and state $\psi_3$ through an intermediate state $\psi_2$. As in STIRAP, the Stokes pulse arrives before the pump pulse, but unlike STIRAP, the two pulses terminate simultaneously while maintaining a constant ratio of amplitudes. The independence of f-STIRAP from details of pulse shape and pulse area makes it the analog of conventional STIRAP in the creation of coherent superpositions of states. We suggest a smooth realization of f-STIRAP which requires only two laser pulses (which can be derived from a single laser) and at the same time ensures the automatic fulfillment of the asymptotic conditions at early and late times. Furthermore, we provide simple analytic estimates of the robustness of f-STIRAP against variations in the pulse intensity, the pulse delay, and the intermediate-state detuning, and discuss its possible extension to multistate systems.
{
"annotation_id": "5b9b88b9-662e-40ae-a08d-aee6dcf1aebe",
"date_created": "2026-03-02T18:02:44.469000Z",
"date_modified": "2026-03-02T18:02:44.469000Z",
"file_hash": "1d9f2fcdd661922a2b187dc7cb9a33355999e0ddc28c7c9a4d093e2bd98c7830",
"private": false,
"record": {
"abstract": "We discuss a simple scheme for preparing atoms and molecules in an arbitrary\npreselected coherent superposition of quantum states. The technique, which we\ncall fractional stimulated Raman adiabatic passage ({\\it f-STIRAP}), is based\nupon (incomplete) adiabatic population transfer between an initial state\n$\\psi_1$ and state $\\psi_3$ through an intermediate state $\\psi_2$. As in\nSTIRAP, the Stokes pulse arrives before the pump pulse, but unlike STIRAP, the\ntwo pulses terminate simultaneously while maintaining a constant ratio of\namplitudes. The independence of f-STIRAP from details of pulse shape and pulse\narea makes it the analog of conventional STIRAP in the creation of coherent\nsuperpositions of states. We suggest a smooth realization of f-STIRAP which\nrequires only two laser pulses (which can be derived from a single laser) and\nat the same time ensures the automatic fulfillment of the asymptotic conditions\nat early and late times. Furthermore, we provide simple analytic estimates of\nthe robustness of f-STIRAP against variations in the pulse intensity, the pulse\ndelay, and the intermediate-state detuning, and discuss its possible extension\nto multistate systems.",
"arxiv_id": "quant-ph/9811079",
"authors": [
"N. V. Vitanov",
"K. -A. Suominen",
"B. W. Shore"
],
"categories": [
"quant-ph"
],
"title": "Creation of coherent atomic superpositions by fractional STIRAP",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/9811079"
},
"schema_id": "dorsal/arxiv",
"source": {
"execution_id": "814bf744-df23-4f20-a9f6-604b4ce8c7dc",
"id": "arXiv Dataset IDs",
"type": "Model",
"variant": "snapshot-2026-03-01",
"version": "0.1.0"
},
"user_id": 1000002
}