Changbiao Li

Interactions of Airy beams, nonlinear accelerating beams, and induced solitons in Kerr and saturable nonlinear media

We investigate numerically interactions between two in-phase or out-of-phase Airy beams and nonlinear accelerating beams in Kerr and saturable nonlinear media in one transverse dimension. We discuss different cases in which the beams with different intensities are launched into the medium, but accelerate in opposite directions. Since both the Airy beams and nonlinear accelerating beams possess infinite oscillating tails, we discuss interactions between truncated beams, with finite energies. During interactions we see solitons and soliton pairs generated that are not accelerating. In general, the higher the intensities of interacting beams, the easier to form solitons; when the intensities are small enough, no solitons are generated. Upon adjusting the interval between the launched beams, their interaction exhibits different properties. If the interval is large relative to the width of the first lobes, the generated soliton pairs just propagate individually and do not interact much. However, if the interval is comparable to the widths of the maximum lobes, the pairs strongly interact and display varied behavior.

Observation of enhancement and suppression in four-wave mixing processes

We report our observations of enhancement and suppression between two competing four-wave mixing (FWM) processes. The results show the evolution of the dressed effects (from pure enhancement into pure suppression) in the degenerate FWM processes. Moreover, due to induced atomic coherence in the system, there exist different interplays between these two FWM processes via different detuning parameters. In addition, the power dependences of enhancement and suppression are studied. Theoretical calculations are carried out, which are in good agreement with the experimental observations.

Evidence of Autler–Townes splitting in high-order nonlinear processes

We demonstrate Autler-Townes (AT) splitting of four-wave mixing in an electromagnetically induced transparency window, which results from the destructive interference between a three-photon process and a five-photon process. The primary and secondary AT splittings are achieved via induced atomic coherence in a four-level Y-type atomic system. Theoretical calculations fit well with the experimentally measured results. Such controlled multichannel splitting of nonlinear optical signals can have potential applications in optical communication and quantum information processing.

Surface solitons of four-wave mixing in an electromagnetically induced lattice

By creating lattice states with two-dimensional spatial periodic atomic coherence, we report an experimental demonstration of generating two-dimensional surface solitons of a four-wave mixing signal in an electromagnetically induced lattice composed of two electromagnetically induced gratings with different orientations in an atomic medium, each of which can support a one-dimensional surface soliton. The surface solitons can be well controlled by different experimental parameters, such as probe frequency, pump power, and beam incident angles, and can be affected by coherent induced defect states.

Parametric Amplification and Cascaded-Nonlinearity Processes in Common Atomic System

For the first time, we study the parametric amplification process of multi-wave mixing (PA-MWM) signal and cascaded-nonlinearity process (CNP) in sodium vapors both theoretically and experimentally, based on a conventional phase-conjugate MWM and a self-diffraction four-wave mixing (SD-FWM) processes, which are pumped by laser or amplified spontaneous emission (ASE), respectively. For laser pumping case, SD-FWM process serves as a quantum linear amplifier (a CNP) out (inside) of the resonant absorption region. While for ASE case, only the CNP occurs and the output linewidth is much narrower than that of the MWM signal due to the second selected effect of its electromagnetically induced transparency window. In addition, the phase-sensitive amplifying process seeded by two MWM processes is discussed for the first time. Theoretical fittings agree well with the experiment. The investigations have important potential applications in quantum communication.

Modulated vortex solitons of four-wave mixing

We experimentally demonstrate the vortex solitons of four-wave mixing (FWM) in multi-level atomic media created by the interference patterns with superposing three or more waves. The modulation effect of the vortex solitons is induced by the cross-Kerr nonlinear dispersion due to atomic coherence in the multi-level atomic system. These FWM vortex patterns are explained via the three-, four- and five-wave interference topologies.

Dressed Gain from the Parametrically Amplified Four-Wave Mixing Process in an Atomic Vapor.

With a forward cone emitting from the strong pump laser in a thermal rubidium atomic vapor, we investigate the non-degenerate parametrically amplified four-wave mixing (PA-FWM) process with dressing effects in a three-level “double-Λ” configuration both theoretically and experimentally. By seeding a weak probe field into the Stokes or anti-Stokes channel of the FWM, the gain processes are generated in the bright twin beams which are called conjugate and probe beams, respectively. However, the strong dressing effect of the pump beam will dramatically affect the gain factors both in the probe and conjugate channels, and can inevitably impose an influence on the quantum effects such as entangled degree and the quantum noise reduction between the two channels. We systematically investigate the intensity evolution of the dressed gain processes by manipulating the atomic density, the Rabi frequency and the frequency detuning. Such dressing effects are also visually evidenced by the observation of Autler-Townes splitting of the gain peaks. The investigation can contribute to the development of quantum information processing and quantum communications.

All-optically controlled fourth- and sixth-order fluorescence processes of Pr3+:YSO

We report all-optically controlled fourth- and sixth-order fluorescence processes with and without splitting, in a heteronuclear-like molecule system of Pr3+:YSO both in theory and experiment. We construct the asymptote among Pr3+ ions localized at different cation vacancies. By changing the frequency detuning and power of the controlling field, fluorescence signal can be controlled to switch from an enhanced peak to a suppressed dip, and vice versa. Such transition has a potential application to produce all-optical switches. The results can be well explained by a theory model based on the high-order coherent process.

Modulating the multi-wave mixing processes via the polarizable dark states

We have observed multi-wave mixing (MWM) processes in reversed-Y (RY) type system in 87Rb atoms with electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) windows at different laser polarization configurations. Interesting rules of changing the MWM processes and EIT profiles are obtained. We have found that the degenerate Zeeman sublevels and their dressed-state effects are responsible for these observed phenomena. Polarizable dark states are used to describe the multi-level dressed states. The experimental data are in good agreement with the results from the theoretical calculation that takes into account all the 16 Zeeman sublevels in the RY system.

Competition between spontaneous parametric four-wave mixing and fluorescence in Pr3+:YSO

We report the competition between the spontaneous parametric four-wave mixing and second- or fourth-order fluorescence (FL) signals in Pr3+:Y2SiO5 crystal. By changing the powers of controlling fields and blocking different fields, the competitive two signals can be identified through the dressing effect. Meanwhile, the delay of fourth-order FL in the time domain results from splitting the energy level. Such results can find potential applications in optical information storage and processing on a photonic chip.