title: Strong relative intensity squeezing by four-wave mixing in rubidium vapor.
abstract: We have measured -3.5 dB (-8.1 dB corrected for losses) relative intensity squeezing between probe and conjugate beams generated by stimulated, nondegenerate four-wave mixing in hot rubidium vapor. Unlike early observations of squeezing in atomic vapors based on saturation of a two-level system, our scheme uses a resonant nonlinearity based on ground-state coherences in a three-level system. Since this scheme produces narrowband, squeezed light near an atomic resonance, it is of interest for experiments involving cold atoms or atomic ensembles.
authors.affiliation: Atomic Physics Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8424, USA.
authors.forename: C F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: McCormick
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Boyer
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Arimondo
authors.forename: P D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Lett