Coherent manipulation of collective three-level systems

We investigate control schemes for the dynamics of a collection of dipole-interacting three-level atoms in V- or Lambda- configuration. For this, we discuss the strong-field steady-state behavior of these systems under the influence of external parameters such as the relative phase between the two applied strong driving laser fields, the ratio of spontaneous decay and incoherent pumping rates, the splitting frequency between closely spaced atomic states, or a surrounding thermal bath. We show that these may act as convenient tools to sensitively control the collective dynamics of the atoms. As applications, we analyze the fluorescence and absorption properties of the atomic samples. Finally, we discuss the transient behavior to show that the presented schemes feature a rapid system evolution as required for many applications.