Nonlinear spectroscopy with cross-correlated chaotic fields

Abstract

A general theory of four-wave mixing in correlated pump and probe fields is developed. The form of the signals, when the probe is delayed, is also given. The theory is applicable to both degenerate and nondegenerate four-wave mixing. The cross correlation between pump and probe leads to an extra contribution to the signal. This extra contribution is easily isolated in an experiment where the probe is delayed with respect to the pump and carries useful information about the physical parameters of the system. Various applications of the theory are discussed. The theory is shown to lead to the existence of fluctuation-induced resonances in a natural way.