Mapping of atoms via the coherence superpositions of orbital angular momentum light

Abstract

We propose a scheme to map atoms via the coherence superpositions of orbital angular momentum (OAM) light. The atoms are prepared in the four-level tripod configuration in the presence of a vortex light, which coherently superposes two Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) beam modes with equal but opposite OAM. Because of the spatially dependent atom-field interaction, the information about the position of the atom can be obtained via the absorption measurement of the weak probe field. It is found that the absorption behavior is significantly impacted by the detuning, control field, azimuthal number, and radial number. Most importantly, atomic mapping accuracy can be controlled by properly adjusting the detunings and control field. The coherent interaction of OAM light with atoms constitutes a platform for active mapping of atoms at specific positions in azimuthal space.