  We theoretically investigate how population can be trapped in the excited
doublet in presence of vacuum-induced coherence (VIC). We employ delayed pulses
to transfer population from a metastable state to the excited states.
Subsequently, spontaneous emission from the excited doublet builds coherence
between them. This coherence can be probed by using chirping, which leads to
the decoupling of the excited doublet from the ground state thereby ensuring
population transfer via delayed pulses. Our results indicate that the existence
of VIC leads to the generation of a mixed state in the excited state manifold,
where trapping of the population occurs even in the presence of large decay.
This trapping may be realized in molecular systems and can be understood as a
sensitive probe of VIC. We present suitable numerical analysis to support our
results.
