A procedure of correct calculation of the dispersion series for polarization of a resonant nonlinear medium is proposed. For the example of an inverted two-level system the maximal time of the group advance is analyzed for a pulse propagating with the velocity exceeding the speed of light.
An analytic solution is obtained for the self-consistent equations describing propagation of an ultrashort pulse in a resonant two-level medium. The first approximation in respect of the dispersion is used to allow for phase modulation and for the dependence of the group velocity on the intensity and on the running value of the frequency. The conditions for the formation of a shock wave are established. It is shown that asymmetric broadening of the spectrum of a pulse results in coherent absorption, as a result of which the propagation of this pulse in such a medium leaves behind a polarization at the atomic transition frequency responsible for the radiation represented by the pulse.
Propagation of radiation in nonlinear dispersive media has been analyzed numerically without standard assumptions (like the envelope approximation or the rotating wave approximation) in the near-resonant regime in one spatial dimension. The medium has been modeled as an assemblage of two-, three-, or four-level systems. An attempt to include inhomogeneous broadening has been made with the help of random spatial modulation of the frequencies of transitions in those systems. Particular attention has been directed to the propagation in spatially structured media. Non-trivial dynamics of forerunners have been obtained in the cases of "stopped" light and "superluminal" propagation. The shapes of the signal, and, in particular, the propagation of the wings of the signal have been investigated. The time- and parameter-dependence of the group velocity have been studied in detail, and the vagueness of the concept of the group velocity has been stressed.
The propagation of strongly polarized electromagnetic waves through a resonance medium, with arbitrary angular momenta of the levels, is investigated in the adiabatic-following approximation. Exact wavefunctions of the two-level atomic system with degenerate levels in the field of a circularly (linearly) polarized wave are constructed and the picture of the shift of energy level splittings is discussed. Exact formulae for the nonlinear refractive index of the medium in the field of the circularly (linearly) polarized wave are found. The propagation of counterpropagating polarized waves—an intense pump wave and a probe light signal—through the resonance medium is studied. The studies are carried out in the scope of a two-level (one-photon resonance) and a three-level (one- and two-photon resonances) medium. Formulae are found for the induced rotation of the plane of polarization for the probing signal that are exact in terms of the intensity of the pump wave. The spectral dependence of the angle of rotation is studied, and it is shown that a series of Stark-shifted resonance poles of atomic absorption and a three-photon scattering process arise.
The evolution of an electromagnetic wave with slowly varying polarization, which interacts resonantly with the medium formed by degenerate two-level atoms, is studied using the wave function approach under the conditions of electromagnetically induced transparency. It is shown that the amplitude of the wave field propagates at the velocity of light in such a medium. The equation obtained for the polarization parameter has a solution in the form of a simple wave. The breaking length is determined. It is shown that the velocity of propagation of polarization waves may be much smaller than the velocity of light. The proposed approach is common for two-level systems with an arbitrary degeneracy. The case of a system with Zeeman degeneracy is analyzed in detail. The dependence of the velocity of propagation of the polarization structure on the amplitude and polarization is determined for an arbitrary level degeneracy. The evolution of the polarization structure in such a medium is discussed.
We develop a general method allowing one to construct the consistent theory of light pulse propagation through an atomic medium in arbitrary nonlinear regime with respect to the field strength, taking into account the light polarization, temporal (frequency), and spatial dispersions. The method is based on the reduced Maxwell equation, atomic density matrix formalism, and adiabatic approximation. In order to demonstrate the efficiency of our method we investigate in detail the case of propagation of the pulses under conditions of coherent population trapping in a medium of two-level atoms with degenerate energy levels. Equations describing the evolution of various field parameters are derived. It is shown that pulses of ellipticity and spatial orientation of polarization ellipse propagate with slowing. Analytical expressions for the slowing factor are obtained. Previously unknown effects of the stimulated phase modulation and the generation of a phase pilot pulse by the variation of spatial orientation of the polarization ellipse are predicted.