Dynamical symmetry breaking of lambda and vee-type three-level systems on quantization of the field modes

Abstract We develop a scheme to construct the Hamiltonians of the lambda, vee and cascade type of three-level configurations using the generators of SU(3) group. It turns out that this approach provides a well defined selection rule to give different Hamitonians for each configurations. The lambda and vee type configurations are exactly solved with different initial conditions while taking the two-mode classical and quantized fields . For the classical field, it is shown that the Rabi oscillation of the lambda model is similar to that of the vee model and the dynamics of the vee model can be recovered from lambda model and vice versa simply by inversion. We then proceed to solve the quantized version of both models introducing a novel Euler matrix formalism. It is shown that this dynamical symmetry exhibited in the Rabi oscillation of two configurations for the semiclassical models is completely destroyed on quantization of the field modes. The symmetry can be restored within the quantized models when the field modes are both in the coherent states with large average photon number which is depicted through the collapse and revival of the Rabi oscillations.