Coherent control of nondegenerate two-photon absorption by femtosecond laser pulses

We investigate the dynamics of nondegenerate two-photon absorption in a cascade three-level system induced by two-color femtosecond laser pulses. It is demonstrated that optimal one-photon detunings of the field frequencies from the intermediate state can be used to control coherently the population inversion between the uppermost and the ground states. The propagation effects make the situation much more complicated. Our simulation shows the possibility of an optical soliton behavior of the two-color pulse with the help of the one-photon detuning.