Three level atom optics via the tunneling interaction

Three level atom optics (TLAO) is introduced as a simple, efficient and robust method to coherently manipulate and transport neutral atoms. The tunneling interaction among three trapped states allows to realize the spatial analog of the stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP), coherent population trapping (CPT), and electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) techniques. We investigate a particular implementation in optical microtrap arrays and show that under realistic parameters the coherent manipulation and transfer of neutral atoms among dipole traps could be realized in the millisecond range.