In a three-level closed Λ system with incoherent pumping, both the dynamically induced coherence (DIC) and the spontaneously generated coherence (SGC) play a significant role in inducing different nonlinear processes like amplification without population inversion (AWI), electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) and electromagnetically induced absorption (EIA). These two coherences can interfere destructively and constructively giving rise to different nonlinear processes (EIT, EIA, AWI) when the strength of these two coherences is comparable. Therefore the system can switch over from one nonlinear process to the other and the desired response of the system can be achieved by controlling the system parameters. It has been shown that this switching can occur by changing the relative strength of Rabi frequencies for the coherent and probe fields and the mode of incoherent pumping (unidirectional and bidirectional) for a chosen SGC parameter. Further control over the response can be achieved by changing the phase between two radiation fields. But the dependence on phase is different when both the coherences contribute than that obtained only from SGC. Exact analytical expressions for the coherences and populations in the steady state limit have been derived (keeping all orders of system parameters) to generalize the analysis and any restrictions over the system parameters (e.g. spontaneous decay widths on probe and coherent transitions are equal) have been avoided to make it applicable to various atomic and molecular systems. However the approximate expressions can be derived from these exact values. Numerical values obtained by solving the density matrix equations agreed well with these exact analytical values.

The light propagation of a probe field in a three-level Λ system with incoherent pumping has been studied when both dynamically induced coherence (DIC) and spontaneously generated coherence (SGC) play a significant role. We have investigated the group velocity of probe field and hence the group index of a three-level Λ system with incoherent pumping when both DIC and SGC play a significant role. We have shown that by varying the probe field Rabi frequency one can control the interference between these two coherences which leads to different nonlinear response (amplification without inversion, electromagnetically induced transparency and electromagnetically induced absorption) leading to different (positive and negative) dispersion. Hence control over switching of group velocity from subluminal to superluminal and vice versa can be achieved. We have also shown that when the contributions from both the coherences are comparable, the dependence of group velocity of probe field in a three-level Λ system with incoherent pumping on phase difference between probe and coherent fields is different from that obtained under the weak probe field condition. Going beyond the weak probe field approximation we have derived analytical expressions for group velocity and hence the group index in the steady state limit (keeping all orders of system parameters) to generalize the analysis, and these expressions can be used for any set of system parameters without any restriction. The numerical values obtained by solving the density matrix equations agree well with these exact analytical values at a large time limit. We have proposed a scheme for experimental realization of EIT and hence subluminal light propagation in molecules by invoking spontaneously generated coherence.

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The interplay between dynamically induced coherence (DIC) and spontaneously generated coherence (SGC) can induce electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in a threelevel closed Λ system. When the contributions from these two coherences are equal in magnitude and opposite in sign at the resonances of both the coherent and probe fields, transparency of the probe light occurs at the resonance with absorption humps away from the resonance. We have demonstrated here that the broadening of the EIT window can be controlled by changing the strength of incoherent pumping. This is a new approach for achieving wide EIT window for lossless and distortionless transmission of light of large spectral width. The most attractive feature of this new method is that the FWHM (full width at half-maximum) of the EIT window is further increased when the broadening due to homogeneous/inhomogeneous decay is taken into consideration. This scheme can be applied in atoms/molecules where SGC can be invoked by dressing two closely spaced levels (e.g. hyperfine levels in atoms or rovibrational levels in molecules) by an external field. This effect has been demonstrated in a heteronuclear molecule (e.g. LiH) and examined the role of incoherent pumping for controlling the width of the EIT window in the presence and absence of homogeneous/inhomogeneous decay. The experimental realization of the widening of the EIT window in molecules has been discussed.

Dependence of amplification without inversion (AWI) on the relative strength of probe and coherent field Rabi frequencies has been studied in H 2 and LiH molecules for three-level Λ configuration. We have derived exact analytical expressions for coherences and populations keeping all the orders of probe field Rabi frequency (G) and coherent field Rabi frequency (Ω) in the steady state limit. Previously, first-order approximation (i.e. keeping only the first-order term in G) was used and hence AWI was studied for the condition Ω G. Here, by using the exact analytical expressions of coherences and populations, we have shown that AWI is maximum when Ω is within the same order of probe field Rabi frequency G irrespective of the choice of different ro-vibrational transitions in both the molecules. However, the shape of the gain profile and the maximum value of gain on the probe field and the absorption on coherent field depend on the choice of different ro-vibrational levels as the upper lasing levels. Effect of bidirectional pumping, homogeneous and inhomogeneous broadening on AWI process has been studied. By solving the density matrix equations numerically it has been shown that both the transient and the steady state AWI can be obtained and the numerical values of coherences and populations at large time are in very good agreement with exact analytical values in the steady state limit. It has been shown that in molecules AWI can be obtained on probe field of smaller wavelength than that of the coherent field which has not been observed in atoms so far.