Laser pulse compression by coherent control in a Doppler broadened medium: Analytical and numerical studies

We have studied the temporal compression of laser pulses occurring in a scheme based on the coherent control peculiarities of electromagnetically induced transparency. This work extends earlier model studies, including the effect of Doppler broadening in a real hot medium. For definiteness and consistency of the atomic parameters employed, we have treated a scheme in argon. In this way, we establish a realistic model that enables us to predict quantitatively the performance of laser pulse compression experiments.