Unusual radiation effects from atoms in gases and plasmas

New interesting effects arise, when three-level atoms interact with the plasma, laser field, or a heat bath. If the atoms inside the plasma are excited by the polarized laser pulse or an electron beam, the line wings of the radiation are completely polarized, while the line core is only partially polarized. The Einstein coefficients are generalized to the case, when the atomic decay channels are subject to quantum interference. Such atoms may develop nonzero quantum coherence between upper levels, if they are in contact with the heat bath in thermal equilibrium. This coherency changes the emissivity of the medium and hence can be experimentally observed. In the case when three-level atoms interact with the laser field, spontaneous emission can be suppressed over the whole frequency spectrum.