Spontaneous Emission from a Driven Atom Embedded in a Photonic Crystal

The properties of the spontaneous emission from a three-level atom with an external driving field in a photonic crystal are studied. The population in the two upper levels displays complete decay or oscillatory behavior, depending on the initial atomic state and the relative position of the two upper levels from the forbidden gap. The intensity and the phase of the external field can also affect spontaneous emission from the atom.