Observation of broadband time-dependent Rabi shifting in microplasmas

Coherent broadband radiation in the form of Rabi sidebands is observed when a ps probe laser propagates through a weakly ionized, electronically excited microplasma generated in the focus of an intense pump beam. The sidebands arise from the interaction of the probe beam with pairs of excited states of a constituent neutral atom via the probe-induced Rabi oscillation. Sideband shifting of >90 meV from the probe carrier frequency results in an effective bandwidth of 200 meV. The sidebands are controlled by the intensity and temporal profile of the probe pulse; with amplitude and shift in agreement with the predictions of a time-dependent generalized Rabi cycling model.