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Hot atoms can exhibit non-magnetic optical non-reciprocal transmission due to their chiral properties, which are characteristic of most alkali metal atoms. In fact, the nonreciprocity in hot atoms depends on the propagation direction of the coupling field due to the Doppler effect. Herein, the reciprocal to non-reciprocal conversion based on the single- and double-dark states is realized by controlling the bidirectional coupling fields in a three-level electromagnetically induced transparent medium coupled with a ring cavity. Tuning the frequency difference between the two coupling fields causes the multi-frequency-channel reciprocity and nonreciprocity manipulation to occur. The experimental proof can be applied to quantum communications and quantum networks, such as optical transistors, all-optical switching or routing and logic gate operation.

The absorption and reflection spectrum of probe light, interacting with a degenerate two-level system of any transition in the Cs D1 line driven by standing-wave, is experimentally studied. The effect that absorption changes from a transparency dip to an absorption peak when the travelling coupling field is replaced by the standing-wave field can only occur in the hyperfine transition Fg↔Fe ≤ Fg (Fg and Fe are the total angular momentum of the ground and the excited levels respectively), and in this case, a reflection of probe can be generated. It is also examined that the absorption coefficient and reflection efficiency in the transition of Fg > Fe are much higher than that in Fg = Fe. For the transition of Fg < Fe, where coherent population trapping cannot be established, the absorption does not change the sign, and there is no reflection to be observed when the coupling is switched from a travelling to a standing-wave field. As a consequence, only the degenerate two-level systems, where the population is trapped in the ground states, can exhibit steep absorption and reflection of the probe light with a standing-wave coupling. Furthermore, the reflection spectra with an asymmetric profile as the function of one- and two-photon detunings are obtained, which is theoretically explained by the phase mismatch compensation during the process of four-wave mixing in an atomic system. This shows that under the condition of coherent population trapping the nonlinear reflection can be improved with one- and two-photon detunings in a degenerate two-level system.