Radiative and dynamical properties of homogeneously prepared atomic samples

We have employed an experimental apparatus in which a sample of nearly ideal, two-level atoms can be exposed to homogeneous amplitude- and phase-controlled resonant laser light to study fundamental dynamical, spectral, and radiative atomic properties. In particular, we show unambiguously that atomic fluorescence is maximized when atoms are purely in their excited state rather than in a superposition of ground and excited state. We also show that fluorescence lifetimes are independent of the atomic excitation level, and finally, we demonstrate interesting correlations between atomic dynamics and atomic spectral features.