Laser selective excitation of a three-level atom: Barium

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Abstract
A simple theory describing selective excitation of a three-level atom with a tuneable laser is developed. Effects of number density, line widths and laser parameters on the final populations of the levels with laser excitation are discussed. An experiment is described in which a tuneable dye laser is used to pump large numbers of barium atoms into the 6s5d 3D metastable term from the (bs)2 1S0 ground state via the 6s6p 3P term. The theory for the interaction of the laser with this 'three-level system' predicts that approximately 80% of the barium atoms should be excited into the 3D term. Experimentally the largest amount of excitation to the 3D term observed was (78+or-5)%.