Effects of pulse modulation on multistep laser excitation

Through numerical solution of the Schrödinger equation we illustrate the influence of laser modulation upon the excitation of anN-level system irradiated by simultaneous laser pulses. We show that amplitude modulation, applied to a Gaussian statistical distribution of detunings, creates a sideband structure to the excitation-reaction profile which can enhance the excitation over that for monochromatic excitation.This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Energy Research and Development Administration under contract No. W-7405-Eng-48.