Steep optical wave group velocity reduction and storage of light without electromagnetically induced transparency

We investigate the storage of light in an atomic sample with a lambda-type coupling scheme driven by optical fields at variable two-photon detuning. In the presence of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT), light is stored and retrieved from the sample by dynamically varying the group velocity. It is found that for any two-photon detuning of the input light pulse within the EIT transparency window, the carrier frequency of the retrieved light pulse matches the two-ph...

We present a general analysis for the interaction of a probe laser radiation with a coherently prepared molecular Raman medium. We describe a general formalism which includes dispersive effects, such as group velocity and group velocity dispersion (GVD). When dispersion is negligible, the analysis is especially simple and insightful. We show that molecular oscillations result in a modulated instantaneous susceptibility of the medium. The effect of the time-varying susceptibil...

We present a universal physical picture for describing storage and retrieval of photon wave packets in a Lambda-type atomic medium. This physical picture encompasses a variety of different approaches to pulse storage ranging from adiabatic reduction of the photon group velocity and pulse-propagation control via off-resonant Raman fields to photon-echo based techniques. Furthermore, we derive an optimal control strategy for storage and retrieval of a photon wave packet of any ...

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a scheme to generate optically-controlled delays based on off-resonant Raman absorption. Dispersion in a transparency window between two neighboring, optically-activated Raman absorption lines is used to reduce the group velocity of broadband 765 nm pulses. We implement this approach in a potassium titanyl phosphate (KTP) waveguide at room temperature, and demonstrate Raman-induced delays of up to 140 fs for a 650-fs duration, 1.8-THz...

We present a detailed semiclassical study on the propagation of a pair of optical fields in resonant media with and without adiabatic approximation. In the case of near and on resonance excitation, we show detailed calculation, both analytically and numerically, on the extremely slowly propagating probe pulse and the subsequent regeneration of a pulse via a coupling laser. Further discussions on the adiabatic approximation provide many subtle understandings of the process inc...

We theoretically investigate a scheme in which backward coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) is significantly enhanced by using slow light. Specifically, we reduce the group velocity of the Stokes excitation pulse by introducing a coupling laser that causes electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). When the Stokes pulse has a spatial length shorter than the CARS wavelength, the backward CARS emission is significantly enhanced. We also investigated the possibilit...

We propose a novel protocol for storage and retrieval of photon wave packets in a $\Lambda$-type atomic medium. This protocol derives from spectral hole burning and takes advantages of the specific properties of solid state systems at low temperature, such as rare earth ion doped crystals. The signal pulse is tuned to the center of the hole that has been burnt previously within the inhomogeneously broadened absorption band. The group velocity is strongly reduced, being propor...

We consider the coherent stimulated Raman process developing in an optically dense disordered atomic medium, which can also incoherently scatter the light over all outward directions. The Raman process is discussed in the context of a quantum memory scheme and we point out the difference in its physical nature from a similar but not identical protocol based on the effect of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). We show that the Raman and EIT memory schemes do not co...

We propose a scheme of storing and releasing pulses or cw beams of light in a moving atomic medium illuminated by two stationary and spatially separated control lasers. The method is based on electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) but in contrast to previous schemes, storage and retrieval of the probe pulse can be achieved at different locations and without switching off the control laser.

We present a detailed analysis of the recently demonstrated technique to generate quasi-stationary pulses of light [M. Bajcsy {\it et al.}, Nature (London) \textbf{426}, 638 (2003)] based on electromagnetically induced transparency. We show that the use of counter-propagating control fields to retrieve a light pulse, previously stored in a collective atomic Raman excitation, leads to quasi-stationary light field that undergoes a slow diffusive spread. The underlying physics o...