Observation of linewidth narrowing due to a spontaneously generated coherence effect

We investigate the resonance fluorescence spectrum of an atomic three-level ladder system driven by two laser fields. We show that such a system emulates to a large degree a V-type atom with parallel dipole moments-the latter being a system that exhibits spontaneously generated coherence and can display ultrasharp spectral lines. We find a suitable energy scheme in a 85Rb atom and experimentally observe the narrowing of the central peak in a rubidium atomic beam. The corresponding spectrum can convincingly demonstrate the existence of spontaneously generated coherence. (electromagnetism, optics, acoustics, heat transfer, classical mechanics, and fluid dynamics)