Spatial―spectral distribution of Rabi radiation generated in plasma

We report observation and control of the spatial-spectral distributions of coherent, dynamic Rabi sideband radiation. The Rabi sidebands result from the interaction of a shaped picosecond probe laser of intensity 10(10) W cm(-2), with neutral excited atomic oxygen generated in a laser-induced microplasma. The spatial-spectral distribution is measured and compared for picosecond laser pulses having either an asymmetric temporal shape or a Gaussian temporal shape. The resulting spatial-spectral distributions are in quantitative agreement with theoretical predictions that account for the radial intensity distribution of the picosecond probe pulse.