Coherent pump-probe spectroscopy in sodium vapor: From electromagnetically induced transparency to parametric amplification

We have theoretically and experimentally investigated coherent pump-probe spectra for the 3S(1/2)-3P(1/2)D(1) transition of sodium atomic vapor. Probe transmission spectra in the presence of a coupling beam exhibit dramatic changes depending on experimental conditions. In the weak-excitation, low-atomic-density limit, the spectra are mainly characterized by electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) and saturated absorption, but for the strong-excitation, high-density case, parametric amplification (PA) is dominant, featuring high probe gain and Stokes-wave generation. We have developed a theory that can explain these two seemingly totally different phenomena (EIT and PA) within the same theoretical framework by manipulating a few experimentally controllable parameters, and have successfully reproduced the observed spectra. Other than the main spectral features, many other interesting physical processes have been predicted and observed.