Buffer-gas-induced absorption resonances in Rb vapor RID B-9041-2008

Journals published by the American Physical Society can be found at http://publish.aps.org/We observe transformation of the electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) resonance into an absorption resonance in a Lambda interaction configuration in a cell filled with Rb-87 and a buffer gas. This transformation occurs as one-photon detuning of the coupling fields is varied from the atomic transition. No such absorption resonance is found in the absence of a buffer gas. The width of the absorption resonance is several times smaller than the width of the EIT resonance, and the changes of absorption near these resonances are about the same. Similar absorption resonances are detected in the Hanle configuration in a buffered cell