Recoil-Induced-Resonances in Nonlinear, Ground-State, Pump-Probe Spectroscopy

A theory of pump-probe spectroscopy is developed in which optical fields drive two-photon Raman transitions between ground states of an ensemble of three-level $\Lambda $ atoms. Effects related to the recoil the atoms undergo as a result of their interactions with the fields are fully accounted for in this theory. The linear absorption coefficient of a weak probe field in the presence of two pump fields of arbitrary strength is calculated. For subrecoil cooled atoms, the spectrum consists of eight absorption lines and eight emission lines. In the limit that $\chi_{1}\ll \chi_{2}$, where $\chi_{1}$ and $\chi_{2}$ are the Rabi frequencies of the two pump fields, one recovers the absorption spectrum for a probe field interacting with an effective two-level atom in the presence of a single pump field. However when $\chi_{1}\gtrsim \chi_{2}$, new interference effects arise that allow one to selectively turn on and off some of these recoil induced resonances.