Influence of phase memory effects in collisions on a resonance Raman spectrum

The influence of phase memory effects on the spectrum of resonance Raman scattering by three-level atoms with the Λ configuration of levels experiencing collisions with buffer gas atoms in a strong monochromatic radiation field is studied theoretically. Systems with a small Doppler broadening compared to the collision frequency (large buffer gas pressures) are analysed in the general case of an arbitrary change (from complete change to complete preservation) in the phase memory at any of three transitions in the Λ system. It is shown that in the absence of the collision relaxation of the low-frequency coherence at the transitions between two lower levels of the Λ system, the radiation scattering spectrum has a spectrally narrow component at the Raman frequency, which, despite the homogeneous broadening of the absorption line, exhibits a strongly pronounced anisotropy. In the direction, close to the propagation direction of exciting radiation, this line maximally narrows down. It is significant that upon optical pumping to the level unaffected by a strong field the resonance Raman spectrum noticeably differs from the spectrum in the case of the probe field. A simple expression is proposed for calculating the degree of the phase memory preservation in collisions from the relative amplitude of the Raman resonance.