Studies Involving the Resonant Interaction of Laser Light with Atoms

In this article, we review three areas of study in which the resonant interaction between atoms and laser radiation plays a central role. Firstly, coherent optical transients are discussed in which the direct observation of this interaction can be studied via the detection of the Rabi frequency in optical nutations. Secondly, the response of atoms to resonant radiation in an optical cavity leading to optical bistability and other effects is described. Finally, the new field of atom manipulation by resonant laser fields is introduced, in particular, the deflection of atomic beams. The underlying theoretical framework for the experiments performed is discussed, ranging from full quantum electrodynamic to semiclassical models.