Have you ever felt that the very title, Progress in Optics, conjured an image in your mind? Don’t you see a row of handsomely printed books, bearing the editorial stamp of one of the most brilliant members of the optics community, and chronicling the field of optics since the invention of the laser? If so, you are certain to move the bookend to make room for Volume 16, the latest of this series. It contains seven chapters on widely diverging topics, written by well-known authorities in their fields. These are: 1) Laser Selective Photophysics and Photochemistry by V. S. Letokhov, 2) Recent Advances in Phase Profiles (sic) Generation by J. J. Clair and C. I. Abitbol, 3 ) Computer-Generated Holograms: Techniques and Applications by W.-H. Lee, 4) Speckle Interferometry by A. E. Ennos, 5 ) Deformation  Invariant, Space-Variant Optical  Pattern Recognition by D. Casasent and D. Psaltis, 6) Light Emission from High-Current Surface-Spark Discharges by R. E. Beverly, and 7) Semiclassical Radiation  Theory within a  QuantumMechanical Framework by I. R. Senitzkt. The  breadth of topic  matter  spanned  by  these  chapters makes it impossible, for this reviewer at least, to pass judgement on the comprehensiveness, relevance, and completeness of every chapter. With an editorial board as prominent as that of Progress in Optics, however, it seems hardly likely that such comments should be necessary. It should certainly be possible to take the authority of each author as credible. The only remaining judgment to be  made on these chapters is their readability. In short, what are they like to read? The first sentence of the first chapter greets the eye with an obvious typographical error: “The creation of coherent laser light source, that have tunable radiation, opened the . . . .” Two pages later we find: “When two types of atoms or molecules of different isotopic composition ( A and B ) have even one spectral line that does not overlap with others, it is pos-

Progress in optics

As materials science is moving towards the synthesis, the study and the processing of new materials exhibiting well-defined and complex functions, the synthesis of new multifunctional materials is one of the important challenges. One of these complex physical properties is magneto-chiral dichroism which arises, at second order, from the coexistence of spatial asymmetry and magnetization in a material. Herein we report the first measurement of strong magneto-chiral dichroism in an enantiopure chiral ferromagnet. The ab initio synthesis of the enantiopure chiral ferromagnet is based on an enantioselective self-assembly, where a resolved chiral quaternary ammonium cation imposes the absolute configurations of the metal centres within chromium-manganese two-dimensional oxalate layers. The ferromagnetic interaction between Cr(III) and Mn(II) ions leads to a Curie temperature of 7 K. The magneto-chiral dichroic effect is enhanced by a factor of 17 when entering into the ferromagnetic phase.

Strong magneto-chiral dichroism in enantiopure chiral ferromagnets

We have experimentally studied the propagation of two optical fields in a dense rubidium (Rb) gas in the case when an additional microwave field is coupled to the hyperfine levels of Rb atoms. The Rb energy levels form a close-$\ensuremath{\Lambda}$ three-level system coupled to the optical fields and the microwave field. It has been found that the maximum transmission of the probe field depends on the relative phase between the optical and the microwave fields. We have observed both constructive and destructive interferences in electromagnetically induced transparency. A simple theoretical model and a numerical simulation have been developed to explain the observed experimental results.

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Electromagnetically induced transparency controlled by a microwave field

Quantum optics with X-rays has long been a somewhat exotic activity, but it is now rapidly becoming relevant as precision x-ray optics and novel X-ray light sources, and high-intensity lasers are becoming available. This article gives an overview of the current state of the field and an outlook to future prospects.

X-ray quantum optics

We summarize recent developments in direct frequency-comb spectroscopy that allowed high-resolution, broad-bandwidth measurements of multiple atomic and molecular resonances using only a phase-stabilized femtosecond laser, opening the way for merging precision spectroscopy with coherent control.

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Direct frequency comb spectroscopy

We studied a propagation of comb of optical pulses produced by a mode-locked diode laser in rubidium vapor. EIT was observed when pulse repetition rate is subharmonic of the hyperfine splitting of the ground state.

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Electromagnetically induced transparency in rubidium vapor prepared by comb of short optical pulses

We experimentally demonstrated the enhancement of coherent Raman scattering in Rb vapor by exciting atomic coherence with fractional STIRAP. The results support the possibility of increasing the CARS sensitivity

/pdf/enhancement-of-field-generation-via-maximal-atomic-coherence-27h66u059m.pdf

Enhancement of field generation via maximal atomic coherence prepared by fast adiabatic passage in Rb vapor

Chirality has been extensively studied for well over a century, and its potential applications range from optics to chemistry, medicine, and biology. Ingenious experiments have been designed to measure this naturally small effect. Here we discuss the possibility of producing a medium having a large chiral effect by using the ideas of coherent control. The coherent fields resonant with appropriate transitions in atomic or molecular systems can be used to manipulate the optical properties of a medium. We demonstrate experimentally very large magnetochiral anisotropy by using electromagnetic fields in atomic Rb vapors.

/pdf/electromagnetically-induced-magnetochiral-anisotropy-in-a-3fllfupjl6.pdf

Electromagnetically induced magnetochiral anisotropy in a resonant medium.

We have studied the selective reflection from the interface between a dense rubidium (Rb) atomic vapor and a transparent dielectric. A remarkable narrowing of the spectrum, which can be used to improve the resolution of spectroscopy of dense media, has been demonstrated. This narrowing results from the reduction of the dipole–dipole interaction between atoms when the Rb vapor is excited by a strong pump laser. By using this technique, we have resolved the hyperfine structure of the Rb D2 line, which is hidden by collisional broadening.

Improvement of spectral resolution by using the excitation dependence of dipole–dipole interaction in a dense atomic gas

We have studied electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in diatomic cesium molecules in a vapor cell by using tunable diode lasers We have observed a sub-natural Λ-resonance in absorption molecular band B
 1Π
 u
 − X
 1Σ
 +
 at different cesium vapor pressures The width of the EIT resonance shows a linear dependence on a cesium vapor pressure

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1134%2FS1054660X10150077.pdf

V.A. Sautenkov

Papers

Electromagnetically induced transparency in rubidium vapor prepared by comb of short optical pulses

Enhancement of field generation via maximal atomic coherence prepared by fast adiabatic passage in Rb vapor

Electromagnetically induced magnetochiral anisotropy in a resonant medium.

Improvement of spectral resolution by using the excitation dependence of dipole–dipole interaction in a dense atomic gas

Observation of electromagnetically induced transparency in cesium molecules