Tailoring population transfer between two hyperfine ground states of 87Rb

In this paper, we investigate the coherent control over a complex multilevel atomic system using the stimulated Raman adiabatic passage. Based on the example of 87Rb atoms, excited with circularly polarized light at the D1 line, we demonstrate the ability to decompose the system into three- and four-level subsystems independently interacting with light beams. Focusing on the four-level system, we demonstrate that the presence of an additional excited state significantly affects the dynamics of the system evolution. Specifically, it is shown that, through the appropriate tuning of the light beams, some of the transfer channels can be blocked, which leads to better control over the system. We also demonstrate that this effect is most significant in media free from inhomogeneous broadening (e.g., Doppler effect) and deteriorates if such broadening is present. For instance, the motion of atoms affects both the efficiency and selectivity of the transfer.