Autler-Townes spectrum of a three-level atom driven by coherent and stochastic fields

The modification of the Autler-Townes spectrum of a V-type three-level atom driven by a strong coherent field and a weak stochastic field with a wide bandwidth is studied. It is found that the lineshape of the probe absorption spectrum varies drastically with the changing of the frequency difference between the coherent field and the stochastic one. The probe beam can be amplified due to the effect of the stochastic field and this amplification can be enhanced due to the quantum interference induced by the stochastic field. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.