Stark-chirped rapid adiabatic passage: Propagation of laser pulses and spacetime evolution of populations and of two-photon coherence

On the basis of a vector model, the propagation of laser pulses under the conditions of a two-photon quasiresonance in the case of Stark-chirped rapid adiabatic passage through the resonance is studied with allowance for a diabatic character of the interaction. It is shown that the shape of a pulse propagating in a medium changes, the sweeping of its carrier frequency occurring concurrently. Special features of the spacetime evolution of the population difference in a two-photon transition and of the two-photon coherence during pulse propagation are analyzed. It is established that a complete population inversion and a maximum coherence may exist over a long length of the medium if the corresponding conditions are satisfied at the boundary. A new possibility for achieving a high coherence (close to a maximum value) is proposed.