Quantum trajectories and output field properties for systems driven by two-photon input field

Abstract The excitation of atomic and molecular systems by propagating light in a two-photon state within the Wigner–Weisskopf approximation has been described using stochastic tools. The problem of a stochastic evolution of the quantum system, depending on the results of the measurement of the output field, was formulated and solved making use of the model of repeated interactions and measurement. We defined the discrete in-time interaction between the quantum system and its environment being the electromagnetic field approximated by a chain or chains of harmonic oscillators. We determined analytical formulae for quantum trajectories associated with one-dimensional and two-dimensional counting processes, corresponding respectively to unidirectional or bidirectional input field prepared in the two-photon states. We derived the formulae for the exclusive probability densities of photon counts that allow us to completely characterize the photon statistics of the output field. Finally, we showed how to apply the quantum trajectories to obtain the formula for the probability of the two-photon absorption for a three-level atom in a ladder configuration. The paper also includes a discussion on the optimal two-photon state that maximizes the two-photon absorption probability.