Control of coherent nonlinear optical processes in turbid media

Yuri V. Rostovtsev

Claes af Klinteberg

Eugeny Korsunsky

Mikhail D. Lukin, Philip Hemmer, Marlan O. Scully

Evgeny A. Shapiro, Thomas M. Drane, Valery Milner

We study the prospects of controlling transmission of broadband and bichromatic laser pulses through turbid samples. The ability to focus transmitted broadband light is limited via both the scattering properties of the medium and the technical characteristics of the experimental setup. There are two time scales given by pulse stretching in the near- and far-field regions which define the maximum bandwidth of a pulse amenable to focusing. In the geometric-optics regime of wave propagation in the medium, a single setup can be optimal for focusing light at frequencies $\ensuremath{\omega}$ and $n\ensuremath{\omega}$ simultaneously, providing the basis for the $1+n$ coherent quantum control. Beyond the regime of geometric optics, we discuss a simple solution for the shaping, which provides the figure of merit for one's ability to simultaneously focus several transmission modes.

Min Xiao, Hai Wang, David J. Goorskey

The Kerr nonlinear index of refraction of a three-level atomic medium can be greatly enhanced by atomic coherence induced by two laser beams. Such electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) media can be used to generate efficient nonlinear optical processes at low light intensities. Control and enhancement of Kerr nonlinearity in EIT media can be useful in all-optical communication, all-optical computing, and quantum information processing.