Atomic coherence effects in four-level systems: Doppler-free absorption within an electromagnetically-induced-transparency window

We report here an effect in a four-level ladderlike system, which is in contrast to the usual quantum interference effects such as electromagnetically induced transperency (EIT) or coherent population trapping: we predict the occurrence of a narrow absorption peak within the EIT window when an EIT atomic system interacts with an additional driving rf field. The Doppler-free-central absorption appears when the three-photon resonance condition is satisfied. In the limit of the rf field strength ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Omega}}}_{\mathrm{rf}}$\ensuremath{\rightarrow}0, the usual EIT profile is recovered.