We consider the simultaneous propagation of a pair of Raman-resonant, frequency-modulated (chirped) laser pulses in an optically thick medium, modeled by an ensemble of $\Lambda$ atoms. A self-organization (“matching”) effect is shown for the chirped-pulse pair, which leads to a quasilossless propagation. Furthermore, we demonstrate that a well-defined coherent superposition of the atomic ground states and, correspondingly, a coherence are robustly created in the medium that can be controlled by amplitudes of the laser pulses. The proposed scheme can be applied to substantially increase the efficiency of the optical wave mixing processes, as well as in other nonlinear processes where the initial preparation of a spatially extended medium in a coherent superposition state is required.

• Received 1 March 2013

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.89.033823