Subnatural linewidth in an optical transition in Cs was obtained by the suppression and recovery of the trapping of atoms. Cold Cs atoms in a magneto-optical trap (MOT) were irradiated using a weak probe laser to suppress MOT loading. When a counterpropagating coupling laser was directed to be resonant with the upper transition, the probe laser was induced to transmit and the MOT loading was recovered. This work investigates quantitatively this behavior by applying simulated electromagnetically induced transparency, taking into account the linewidth of the lasers as a decoherence source.

• Received 4 May 2007

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.76.055404