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arXiv:2011.09229 · American Journal of Physics

Producing slow light in warm alkali vapor using electromagnetically induced transparency

Kenneth DeRose, Kefeng Jiang, Jianqiao Li, Macbeth Julius, Linzhao Zhuo, Scott L. Wenner, Samir Bali

Published Feb 17, 2023• 25 citations

Abstract

We present undergraduate-friendly instructions on how to produce light pulses propagating through warm Rubidium vapor with speeds less than 400 m/s, i.e., nearly a million times slower than c. We elucidate the role played by electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in producing slow light pulses and discuss how to achieve the required experimental conditions. The optical setup is presented, and details provided for preparation of pump, probe, and reference pulses of the required size, frequency, intensity, temporal width, and polarization purity. EIT-based slow light pulses provide the most widely studied architecture for creating quantum memories. Therefore, the basic concepts presented here are useful for physics and engineering majors who wish to get involved in the development of cutting-edge quantum technologies.

DOI: 10.1119/5.0128967

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We present undergraduate-friendly instructions on how to produce light pulses propagating through warm Rubidium vapor with speeds less than 400 m/s, i.e., nearly a million times slower than c. We elucidate the role played by electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in producing slow light pulses and discuss how to achieve the required experimental conditions. The optical setup is presented, and details provided for preparation of pump, probe, and reference pulses of the required size, frequency, intensity, temporal width, and polarization purity. EIT-based slow light pulses provide the most widely studied architecture for creating quantum memories. Therefore, the basic concepts presented here are useful for physics and engineering majors who wish to get involved in the development of cutting-edge quantum technologies.

We experimentally studied Zeeman electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) resonances and slow light propagation in hot Rb vapor. Propagation of weak σ− polarized light pulses in the presence of stronger σ+ polarized background through Rb vapor was realized using a single laser beam and the Pockels cell. The dependences of slow light group velocity and fractional pulse delay on the overall laser beam intensity and temporal pulse length showed that lower optical power and longer light pulses lead to improved EIT and slow light features. The connection between EIT and slow light was also investigated showing that narrower and more contrasted EIT resonances are necessary for further decreasing a group velocity.

Abstract This paper reviews recent efforts to realize a high‐efficiency memory for optical pulses using slow and stored light based on electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in ensembles of warm atoms in vapor cells. After a brief summary of basic continuous‐wave and dynamic EIT properties, studies using weak classical signal pulses in optically dense coherent media are discussed, including optimization strategies for stored light efficiency and pulse‐shape control, and modification of EIT and slow/stored light spectral properties due to atomic motion. Quantum memory demonstrations using both single photons and pulses of squeezed light are then reviewed. Finally a brief comparison with other approaches is presented.

We report slowed propagation and storage and retrieval of thermal light in warm rubidium vapor using the effect of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). We first demonstrate slowed propagation of the probe thermal light beam through an EIT medium by measuring the second-order correlation function of the light field using the Hanbury-Brown-Twiss interferometer. We also report an experimental study on the effect of the EIT slow-light medium on the temporal coherence of thermal light. Finally, we demonstrate the storage and retrieval of the thermal light beam in the EIT medium. The direct measurement of the photon number statistics of the retrieved light field shows that the photon number statistics are preserved during the storage and retrieval processes.

Strong optical nonlinearities are key to a range of optical technologies, in particular, to the generation of quantum light states. This paper proposes and demonstrates a novel nonlinear mechanism based on an N-level electro-magnetic induced transparency (EIT) in a warm rubidium vapor. Our scheme relies on using an optical frequency comb as a pump and a CW probe signal, which co-propagate and interact in warm rubidium vapor, as shown in Fig. 1(a). Multiple comb lines excite N-level EIT resonances as shown in Fig. 1(b), which modifies the optical response of the medium, creating a giant Kerr nonlinearity [1], which opens the way for different phenomena like slow light propagation or generation of quantum light states. Here, we experimentally create the giant Kerr nonlinearity, with the magnitude ranging from 1.2 x 10–7to 7.7 × 10–7m2V-2.

EIT (Electromagnetically Induced Transparency) is a quantum optics phenomenon that occurs under specific conditions during a photon-atom interaction. Under such conditions, slow-light may be produced as a by-product of this effect. The purpose of this research is to adapt previous work on rubidium atoms in vapor cells to lithium atoms in a thermal beam. By doing so, the hope is to better understand the limitations of slow light and produce better results by eliminating atomic collisions within the system.