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Abstract

STIRAP (Stimulated Raman Adiabatic Passage) is a powerful laser-based method,
usually involving two photons, for efficient and selective transfer of
population between quantum states. A particularly interesting feature is the
fact that the coupling between the initial and the final quantum states is via
an intermediate state even though the lifetime of the latter can be much
shorter than the interaction time with the laser radiation. Nevertheless,
spontaneous emission from the intermediate state is prevented by quantum
interference. Maintaining the coherence between the initial and final state
throughout the transfer process is crucial. STIRAP was initially developed with
applications in chemical dynamics in mind. That is why the original paper of
1990 was published in The Journal of Chemical Physics. However, as of about the
year 2000, the unique capabilities of STIRAP and its robustness with respect to
small variations of some experimental parameters stimulated many researchers to
apply the scheme in a variety of other fields of physics. The successes of
these efforts are documented in this collection of articles.