Inequivalent classes of closed three-level systems

Klimov, Andre B.; de Guise, Hubert; Sanchez-Soto, Luis L.

Inequivalent classes of closed three-level systems

Authors

Klimov, Andre B.

de Guise, Hubert

Sanchez-Soto, Luis L.

Description

We show here that the $Λ$ and V configurations of three-level atomic systems, while they have recently been shown to be equivalent for many important physical quantities when driven with classical fields [M. B. Plenio, Phys. Rev. A \textbf{62}, 015802 (2000)], are no longer equivalent when coupled via a quantum field. We analyze the physical origin of such behavior and show how the equivalence between these two configurations emerges in the semiclassical limit.
4 pages, 1 figure. To appear as Brief Report in Physical Review A