Relationship between electromagnetically-induced transparency and Autler–Townes splitting in a Doppler-broadened system

We study the relationship between electromagnetically-induced transparency (EIT) and Autler–Townes (AT) splitting in a cascade three-level Doppler-broadened system. By comparing the absorption spectrum with the fluorescence excitation spectrum, it is found that for a Doppler-broadened system, EIT resonance cannot be explained as the result of quantum interference, unlike the case of a homogeneously broadened system. Instead, the macroscopic polarization interference plays an important role in determining the spectra of EIT and AT splitting, which can be explained within the same framework when being detected by the absorption spectra.