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Physical Review A

Phase-controlled pulse propagation in media with cross coupling of electric and magnetic probe field component

Robert Fleischhaker, Jörg Evers

Published Dec 8, 2009• 24 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Light propagation is discussed in media with a cross coupling of the electric and magnetic component of an applied probe field. We derive the wave equations for a probe pulse propagating through such a medium and solve them analytically in Fourier space using the slowly varying envelope approximation. Our analysis reveals the influence of the different medium response coefficients on the propagation dynamics. We apply these results to a specific example system in which cross couplings are induced in an atomic medium by additional control fields. We show that the cross couplings render the propagation dynamics sensitive to the relative phase of the additional fields, and this phase dependence enables one to control the pulse during its propagation through the medium. Our results demonstrate that the magnetic field component of a probe beam can crucially influence the system dynamics already at experimentally accessible parameter ranges in dilute vapors.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.80.063816

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Light propagation in chiral media

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Light propagation in chiral media is discussed. We derive the wave equations for a probe pulse propagating through a chiral medium, and solve them analytically in Fourier space using the slowly varying envelope approximation. Our analysis reveals the influence of the different medium response coefficients on the propagation dynamics. Applying these results to a specific example system, we show that chiral interactions already become important at experimentally accessible parameter ranges in dilute vapors. The chirality renders the propagation dynamics sensitive to the phase of the applied fields, and we show that this phase-dependence enables one to control the pulse evolution during its propagation through the medium. Our results demonstrate that the magnetic field component of a probe beam can crucially influence the system dynamics even if it couples to the medium only weakly.

arXiv:0906.5301•Jun 29, 2009•0 citations

Dual control of slow light in reciprocal electromagnetically-induced-transparency conditions

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Electromagnetically-induced transparency (EIT) of atomic medium interacting with two laser beams can exhibit effects of reciprocal influence of both beams on optical properties of the medium. If the probe beam reaches instantaneous intensity comparable to that of the control beam, considerable energy is transferred to the latter. Resulting increase in the control-beam intensity temporarily modifies EIT conditions and consequently affects propagation of probe-beam pulses. The effect is particularly strong in atomic media exhibiting significant dissipation of radiation energy due to relaxation processes efficiently counteracting the optical pumping. Coherent interaction of atoms with both beams causes reduction of dissipation of the control beam (reciprocal EIT conditions). Our experiments with hot rubidium vapor demonstrate the possibility of dual control over slow propagation of light pulses in such media. Besides the well-known dependence on input control-beam intensity, the delays of output probe pulses depended significantly also on the energy of input probe pulses. Moreover, for relatively short input pulses, very specific shape of output pulses was observed, invariant in wide ranges of input probe pulse energies and control-beam intensities. The shapes of the output pulses were also the same for short input pulses of different shapes as well as for pulses temporarily stored in the medium by switching off the control beam during their propagation.

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Propagation effects in atomic systems for ultrashort and long pulses: Control of the optical response

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This thesis deals with the study of propagation effects experienced by weak light pulses as they propagate in atomic media driven by strong pulses. We explore both the ultra-short and long pulse regime and investigate the phenomena that arise at these different time scales. In the short pulse regime, a strongly driven two level atomic system presents transient light shifts, and non-adiabatic transitions occur between these adiabatic levels. We have studied a method to probe these light shifts in real time by propagating a weak probe through the medium. The light shifts enrich the spectrum of the probe and the probe gets shaped as a result. In this way a strongly driven two-level system can act as an active pulse shaper, and can introduce oscillations in the temporal profile of an ultra-short pulse at a time scale shorter than the pulse duration. We also show that by driving the system with two time delayed non-resonant strong fields, the non-adiabatic effects can be rendered phase dependent. This gives very sensitive phase control of the excited state population and can be used to formulate new techniques in interferometry. In the long pulse regime we present a new method of slowing light that can be realized in a double two-level system interacting with two orthogonally polarized light pulses that propagate along different axis. Spatio-temporal dependence of the total polarization induces a grating in the ground Zeeman coherence. The stronger of the two fields (the control field) is diffracted from this grating into the direction of the weak probe field compensating for the absorption of this latter field. A transparency window is thus created in the absorption spectrum of the probe leading to the slowing down of light. The transparency window exhibits characteristics similar to the one obtained by EIT (electromagnetic induced transparency) method. However, the important difference between our method and the traditional EIT method, is that ours doesn't rely on realizing dark state in the system. This may open the possibility of slowing down light in more complex atomic media. Moreover, when the linear absorptive response of the medium is cancelled in this manner, the nonlinear response becomes more important. In the situation where fields propagate in the same direction and have same frequency, two regimes have been investigated. For small optical depths, the effective susceptibility behaves as chi_lin exp[2 i phi] (with phi the phase difference between two fields). This renders phase control of the medium response, and the medium can be changed from an absorber to an amplifier, with normal or anomalous dispersion, by adjusting the relative phase phi.  In the regime of large optical thickness, phase saturation takes place and the effective susceptibility turns into chi_lin*, changing an absorber into an amplifier without effecting the dispersive response (chi_lin is linear susceptibility).

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We numerically investigate two-channel pulse propagation dynamics in a degenerate tripod-type four-level atomic medium under the combined influence of an external magnetic field and a relative phase. The results show that an external magnetic field is used as a “knob” to switch between transparent and absorptive regimes of the probe pulse by the on/off state of the magnetic field within suitable frequency and phase domains. By tuning the magnitude of the magnetic field, the transparency spectrum can be reversibly transformed between single- and double-window structures, enabling stable pulse propagation in a single- or dual-channel. In addition, the relative phase strongly modifies the probe absorption profile and provides an efficient means to control pulse propagation dynamics. These findings suggest promising applications in pulse propagation, multi-channel switching, and optical storage for communication systems.

Communications in Physics•Sep 14, 2026•0 citations
Light propagation is discussed in media with a cross coupling of the electric and magnetic component of an applied probe field. We derive the wave equations for a probe pulse propagating through such a medium and solve them analytically in Fourier space using the slowly varying envelope approximation. Our analysis reveals the influence of the different medium response coefficients on the propagation dynamics. We apply these results to a specific example system in which cross couplings are induced in an atomic medium by additional control fields. We show that the cross couplings render the propagation dynamics sensitive to the relative phase of the additional fields, and this phase dependence enables one to control the pulse during its propagation through the medium. Our results demonstrate that the magnetic field component of a probe beam can crucially influence the system dynamics already at experimentally accessible parameter ranges in dilute vapors.
Light propagation in chiral media is discussed. We derive the wave equations for a probe pulse propagating through a chiral medium, and solve them analytically in Fourier space using the slowly varying envelope approximation. Our analysis reveals the influence of the different medium response coefficients on the propagation dynamics. Applying these results to a specific example system, we show that chiral interactions already become important at experimentally accessible parameter ranges in dilute vapors. The chirality renders the propagation dynamics sensitive to the phase of the applied fields, and we show that this phase-dependence enables one to control the pulse evolution during its propagation through the medium. Our results demonstrate that the magnetic field component of a probe beam can crucially influence the system dynamics even if it couples to the medium only weakly.
Electromagnetically-induced transparency (EIT) of atomic medium interacting with two laser beams can exhibit effects of reciprocal influence of both beams on optical properties of the medium. If the probe beam reaches instantaneous intensity comparable to that of the control beam, considerable energy is transferred to the latter. Resulting increase in the control-beam intensity temporarily modifies EIT conditions and consequently affects propagation of probe-beam pulses. The effect is particularly strong in atomic media exhibiting significant dissipation of radiation energy due to relaxation processes efficiently counteracting the optical pumping. Coherent interaction of atoms with both beams causes reduction of dissipation of the control beam (reciprocal EIT conditions). Our experiments with hot rubidium vapor demonstrate the possibility of dual control over slow propagation of light pulses in such media. Besides the well-known dependence on input control-beam intensity, the delays of output probe pulses depended significantly also on the energy of input probe pulses. Moreover, for relatively short input pulses, very specific shape of output pulses was observed, invariant in wide ranges of input probe pulse energies and control-beam intensities. The shapes of the output pulses were also the same for short input pulses of different shapes as well as for pulses temporarily stored in the medium by switching off the control beam during their propagation.
The influence of a phase-modulated control field on the phenomenon of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) is investigated theoretically. We show that the phase modulation changes the dispersive properties of the medium considerably since it results in temporal oscillations of the transparency window in frequency space. This is in marked contrast to the standard EIT setup, where the transparency window is fixed and determined by the two-photon resonance condition. In particular, we find that the phase modulation enables the propagation of probe pulses with disjoint frequency spectra at different times and allows the shifting of the central frequency of a probe pulse almost without distortion of its shape. We employ the time-dependent susceptibility of the medium to explain and analyze our results and demonstrate that this concept yields qualitative as well as quantitative agreement with the numerical integration of Maxwell-Bloch equations. Our theoretical model can be applied to other media with time-dependent susceptibilities.
This thesis deals with the study of propagation effects experienced by weak light pulses as they propagate in atomic media driven by strong pulses. We explore both the ultra-short and long pulse regime and investigate the phenomena that arise at these different time scales. In the short pulse regime, a strongly driven two level atomic system presents transient light shifts, and non-adiabatic transitions occur between these adiabatic levels. We have studied a method to probe these light shifts in real time by propagating a weak probe through the medium. The light shifts enrich the spectrum of the probe and the probe gets shaped as a result. In this way a strongly driven two-level system can act as an active pulse shaper, and can introduce oscillations in the temporal profile of an ultra-short pulse at a time scale shorter than the pulse duration. We also show that by driving the system with two time delayed non-resonant strong fields, the non-adiabatic effects can be rendered phase dependent. This gives very sensitive phase control of the excited state population and can be used to formulate new techniques in interferometry. In the long pulse regime we present a new method of slowing light that can be realized in a double two-level system interacting with two orthogonally polarized light pulses that propagate along different axis. Spatio-temporal dependence of the total polarization induces a grating in the ground Zeeman coherence. The stronger of the two fields (the control field) is diffracted from this grating into the direction of the weak probe field compensating for the absorption of this latter field. A transparency window is thus created in the absorption spectrum of the probe leading to the slowing down of light. The transparency window exhibits characteristics similar to the one obtained by EIT (electromagnetic induced transparency) method. However, the important difference between our method and the traditional EIT method, is that ours doesn't rely on realizing dark state in the system. This may open the possibility of slowing down light in more complex atomic media. Moreover, when the linear absorptive response of the medium is cancelled in this manner, the nonlinear response becomes more important. In the situation where fields propagate in the same direction and have same frequency, two regimes have been investigated. For small optical depths, the effective susceptibility behaves as chi_lin exp[2 i phi] (with phi the phase difference between two fields). This renders phase control of the medium response, and the medium can be changed from an absorber to an amplifier, with normal or anomalous dispersion, by adjusting the relative phase phi.  In the regime of large optical thickness, phase saturation takes place and the effective susceptibility turns into chi_lin*, changing an absorber into an amplifier without effecting the dispersive response (chi_lin is linear susceptibility).
Abstract We examine propagation of the linear polarized pulse through a medium containing four-level double V-type atoms. The medium is made chiral by the cross coupling of the applied electromagnetic fields. We show that such medium can be used as a polarization splitter of the probe pulse where the spatially refracted left and right circular polarized components propagate independently due to their distinct phase velocities. We find that dispersion characteristics of the chiral medium can be manipulated by the controlling parameters of the system. Consequently, both the left and right circular polarized components exhibit sub and superluminal propagation characteristics for suitable choices of the probe field detuning and external control fields. It is found that for both polarized components a switching from sub to superluminal behavior may be achieved by adjusting the probe field detuning. In addition, splitting of the left and right circular polarized components and hence peak value of the group time delay and advance may be tuned via the strengths of the control fields. Our results may find applications in spintronics, magnetic quantum optics, images coding and cloaking technology.
We numerically investigate two-channel pulse propagation dynamics in a degenerate tripod-type four-level atomic medium under the combined influence of an external magnetic field and a relative phase. The results show that an external magnetic field is used as a “knob” to switch between transparent and absorptive regimes of the probe pulse by the on/off state of the magnetic field within suitable frequency and phase domains. By tuning the magnitude of the magnetic field, the transparency spectrum can be reversibly transformed between single- and double-window structures, enabling stable pulse propagation in a single- or dual-channel. In addition, the relative phase strongly modifies the probe absorption profile and provides an efficient means to control pulse propagation dynamics. These findings suggest promising applications in pulse propagation, multi-channel switching, and optical storage for communication systems.