Nondegenerate four-wave interaction in a resonant medium with Doppier broadening of the absorption line

An analysis is made of nondegenerate four-wave interaction (FWI) in a resonant medium (two-level model) with Doppier line broadening allowing for nonlinear absorption of the weak radiation. The cubic approximation with respect to the field is used to derive expressions for the coefficients of parametric coupling and absorption of the mixed waves. The angular dependences of the reflection coefficient are studied for quasicollinear and orthogonal FWI geometries. It is shown that, as a result of the thermal motion of the particles, the dependence of the reflection coefficient on the angle θ between the interacting waves results in considerable limitation of the angular width of the reversed beams. This limitation is greater for degenerate FWI. In the case of nondegenerate FWI, as a result of the selective action of waves on groups of atoms having a specific velocity projection, the reversal efficiency may increase on increase in θ.