Absorption-Dispersion Properties in a Four-Level Atomic System with Vacuum-Induced Coherence

We discuss and analyze absorption-dispersion response for the probe field in a typical four-level atomic system with vacuum-induced coherence (VIC) arising from the cross coupling pathways associated with a pair of upper excited hyperfine levels. We find that VIC effect can preserve electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) by using the detailed numerical simulations based on the density-matrix equations and analytical calculations in the dressed-state picture. We also show that the atomic hyperfine structure cannot be a hindrance to obtaining EIT.