Comparison between dressed-atom and bare-atom pictures in laser spectroscopy

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Abstract
The theory of the interaction between radiation fields and atoms as applied to laser spectroscopy can be approached using either a bare-atom picture (BAP) or dressed-atom picture (DAP). In the BAP, the basis states are those of the free atoms and free field while, in the DAP, the basis states encompass some part of the atom-field interaction. The theory of saturation spectroscopy in three-level systems is discussed using both approaches. Whereas calculations are usually more easily done using the BAP, one can gain useful insight into the underlying physical processes from the DAP. Moreover, when the radiation field strengths (in frequency units) are larger than the relaxation rates in the problem, the DAP equations simplify considerably and lead to line-shape expressions which may be given a simple interpretation. The DAP is used to obtain resonance conditions for traveling-wave fields interacting with three- and four-level atoms and for a standing-wave saturator and traveling-wave probe interacting with a three-level atom. In addition, the DAP is applied to several problems involving optical coherent transients. A comparison is made between the various advantages of the BAP and DAP and an interesting duality between the two approaches is noted.