Light Propagation in Optically Dressed Media

F. T. Arecchi, Vittorio Degiorgio, Carlo Giacomo Someda

Piotr Gładysz, Szymon Pustelny, Karolina Słowik

Superluminal light propagation is typically accompanied by significant absorption that might prevent its observation in realistic samples. We propose an all-optical implementation exploiting the two-photon resonance in three-level media to overcome this problem. With several computational methods, we analyze three possible configurations of optically-dressed systems and identify an optimal configuration for superluminal propagation. Due to the far-detuned operating regime with low absorption, this scenario avoids the usual need for population inversion, gain assistance or nonlinear optical response. Our analysis covers a broad parameter space and aims for the identification of conditions where significant pulse advancement can be achieved at high transmission levels. In this context, a figure of merit is introduced accounting for a trade-off between the desired group-index values and transmission level. This quantity helps to identify the optimal characteristics of the dressing beam.

Joseph H. Eberly, M. Ll. Pons, H. R. Haq

We have carried out a series of numerical experiments on the propagation of optical pulse pairs in absorbing media under one-photon and two-photon resonant lambda-system conditions. We report the first observation of the spatial evolution of ``dressed-field'' pulses, the exact analog of the temporal evolution of dressed-atom states.

Samina Masood, Iram Saleem

Piotr Gładysz, Karolina Słowik

Coherent, optically dressed media composed of two-level atomic systems without inversion symmetry are considered as all-optically tunable sources of coherent radiation in the microwave to near-infrared domain. Here, a theoretical model and a numerical toolbox are developed to account for buildup and propagation dynamics of such low-frequency impulses in gaseous or bulk media. We discuss the physical mechanisms involved and make a performance study in conditions representative for vapors of heteronuclear diatomic molecules to identify realistic experimental scenarios.

Thierry Bontoux