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Physical Review A

Guiding and polarization shaping of vector beams in anisotropic media

Nilamoni Daloi, Pardeep Kumar, Tarak Nath Dey

Published Jun 21, 2022• 7 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We investigate a scheme to guide a weak vector beam using optically written waveguides inside atomic vapor, while controlling its polarization rotation. The atoms are prepared in the four-level tripod configuration in the presence of an external magnetic field. The three transitions of the tripod system are driven by a strong control beam and the two orthogonal polarization components of a weak vector beam (VB). A suitable spatial intensity profile and the detuning of the control field facilitate the generation of an optical fiberlike refractive index gradient across the atomic vapor. This enables waveguiding of the weak VB for a couple of Rayleigh lengths. Further, the magnetic-field-induced anisotropy of the tripod system creates a difference in the refractive indices of its two components. This is the reason behind the polarization shaping of VB. The mechanism of efficient guiding of VB with controllable polarization may have important applications in high-density optical communication and quantum information.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.105.063714

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We investigate a scheme to guide a weak vector beam using optically written waveguides inside atomic vapor, while controlling its polarization rotation. The atoms are prepared in the four-level tripod configuration in the presence of an external magnetic field. The three transitions of the tripod system are driven by a strong control beam and the two orthogonal polarization components of a weak vector beam (VB). A suitable spatial intensity profile and the detuning of the control field facilitate the generation of an optical fiberlike refractive index gradient across the atomic vapor. This enables waveguiding of the weak VB for a couple of Rayleigh lengths. Further, the magnetic-field-induced anisotropy of the tripod system creates a difference in the refractive indices of its two components. This is the reason behind the polarization shaping of VB. The mechanism of efficient guiding of VB with controllable polarization may have important applications in high-density optical communication and quantum information.
Vector beam propagation through a four-level tripod atomic system has been investigated. The three transitions of the tripod atomic system are coupled by a strong control field and the two constituent orthogonally polarized components of a weak probe vector beam. An external magnetic field induces anisotropy, creating a difference in the refractive indices of the two polarization components of the beam. This difference in refractive indices varies with the magnetic field strength and directly relates to the polarization orientation at any transverse plane. Thus, the transverse polarization structure can be rotated as desired with appropriate magnetic field strength. We further study the effect of nonlinearity and inhomogeneous broadening on the vector beam's polarization rotation. Therefore, the mechanism of efficient polarization control and manipulation of a vector beam can open up a new avenue for high-resolution microscopy and high-density optical communications.
We propose an efficient scheme for the generation of tunable optical waveguides based on atomic vapor in an NNN-type configuration. We exploit both control-field-induced transparency and Kerr-field-induced absorption to produce a flexible probe transparency window otherwise not feasible. We employ a suitable spatial profile of control and Kerr beams to create a high contrast refractive index modulation that holds the key to guiding a weak narrow probe beam. Further, we numerically demonstrate that high-contrast tunable waveguide permits the propagation of different modes of probe beam to several Rayleigh lengths without diffraction. This efficient guiding of narrow optical beam may have important applications in large-density image processing and high-resolution imaging.
We investigate the propagation of optical vector vortices of slow light in a coherently prepared four-level tripod atomic system. The vector vortex consists of superposed pulse pairs with opposite circular polarizations and orbital angular momentum (OAM) charges ±l\pm l±l, weakly interacting with an atomic medium initially prepared in a coherent superposition of two ground states. A third unoccupied state is coupled to a stronger control laser without OAM, creating a phase-dependent configuration. In the linear regime, the vortex OAM is mapped onto the medium, producing symmetrical azimuthally structured absorption patterns, with losses significantly reduced by the control field. For small detunings, complementary spatially dependent amplification and absorption occur for the two circular polarization components. This OAM-structured coherence induces a dynamical anisotropy, affecting both the intensity and polarization of the slow-light vortex. Polarization states evolve periodically between left-circular, linear, and right-circular polarizations during propagation. Once the beam reaches a stationary regime, the ring-shaped intensity transforms into a petal-like structure, and the final polarization states stabilize according to the initial superposition. The rate of polarization transitions is tunable via the control field strength, demonstrating flexible control over slow-light vector vortex dynamics.
We investigate the phase-induced susceptibilities for both components of the probe vector beam (PVB) within an atomic system. The atoms are prepared in a nondegenerate four-level configuration. The transitions are coupled by a $\ensuremath{\pi}$ polarized control field and two orthogonally polarized components of a PVB. We show that the linear susceptibility of the medium depends on the phase shift between the control field and PVB, characterizing loss or gain in the system. Additionally, the phase shift causes polarization rotation in the vector beams (VBs) as they propagate. We further study the effect of nonlinearity on the VB propagation through the medium for a couple of Rayleigh lengths. The self-focusing and defocusing phenomena are observed for radial, azimuthal, and spiral VBs. The special chain-like self-focusing and defocusing leads to the formation of consecutive smaller spot sizes with moderate gain. Therefore, the mechanism of control of susceptibility and self-focusing may hold promise for applications such as transitioning from an absorber to an amplifier, high-resolution microscopy, and optical trap systems.
We investigate the propagation of an optical vector vortex beam in an atomic medium featuring four-level tripod transitions, where ground-state coherence is mediated by a transverse magnetic field. The vector beam consists of left- and right-circularly polarized components, each carrying an optical vortex with opposite orbital angular momentum (OAM). We study the linear response of the medium to the vector beam in order to determine the evolution of the beam's intensity and polarization profile. We find that the beam structure undergoes significant transformations as it propagates: the transverse intensity evolves from a ring-shaped profile to a petal-like structure, while the polarization transitions between left-circular, linear, and right-circular polarizations. Furthermore, when only the right-circular polarization component (a scalar vortex) enters the medium, it parametrically generates a left-circular polarization component, transferring its OAM to the generated field. This process converts the initial vortex beam into a superposition of left- and right-circular components, forming a scalar vortex beam where both polarization components carry the same OAM.
Vector beams (VBs) with potential applications are successfully utilized in many fields as light sources with a spatially-varying polarization profile in recent years. Here, we study the transmission of a VB by manipulating atomic polarization via the optical pumping effect. By using hybridly and radially polarized beams as pump and probe beams in a counter-propagating configuration, we observe a four-petal pattern intensity distribution of probe beam, and the four-petal pattern rotates with the polarization state orientation of the pump beam. The results show a polarization dependent absorption in the atomic media. We experimentally demonstrate the absorption characteristics under different polarization combinations of pump and probe beams. The Jones matrix method is used to explain this phenomenon and the simulations are consistent with the experimental observation. Our results may provide a sound foundation for applications in optical manipulation and quantum information in atomic ensembles.