Slow Light in Atomic Vapors

Mason Klein

Jacob B. Khurgin, R.S. Tucker

While the theoretical foundations of slow light have been well-known for many years, the experimental investigation of slow light did not begin until relatively recently. From the beginning, atomic vapors have played an important role in carrying out these experiments. Many of the preliminary studies of optical group velocities were performed using atomic vapors, and atomic vapors continue to be used in both fundamental and applied slow light research.

J. P. Marangos

Yundong Zhang, Shuangqiang Liu, Hao Wu +2 more

Slow light and superluminal were both observed in Cs atomic vapor without any couple field. By only changing the signal modulate frequency, the light propagation changes from superluminal to slow light.

Gediminas Juzeliūnas, Patrik Öhberg

Long Sui

We report an experimental realization of the delayed images in a hot rubidium atomic vapor. With a rubidium atomic vapor cell as slow light medium, the image quality of the experiment could be improved greatly, compared with the results without a slow light medium. By analyzing the results about the image visibility of the slow light imaging system under three different conditions, the image visibility becomes better with the increment of the temperature, during the time that the wavelength of the laser is within dispersion range.