VELOCITY-SELECTIVE OPTICAL-PUMPING IN 4-WAVE-MIXING

The effects of velocity-selective optical pumping in nearly degenerate four-wave mixing are studied using a model in which the radiation fie lds interact with ''three-level'' atoms in the A configuration. The co nditions under which it is possible to observe resonances characterize d by an effective ground-state width are explored. It is shown that sa turation of the system by optical pumping can lead to the disappearanc e of these narrow resonances in some limiting cases.