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Frontiers in Optics

Utilization of Galilean Invariance to Characterize Light-Drag in Hot Atomic Vapors

E. Samuel Arroyo-Rivera, Surendar Vijayakumar, Robert W. Boyd

Published Jan 1, 2022• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

Light undergoes drag when it travels through a moving medium. We leverage the Galilean invariance of this phenomenon to measure light drag between a moving light source and a stationary medium.
DOI
10.1364/fio.2022.jw5a.18

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Light experiences drag effects when it propagates through a moving medium. The study of light drag has provided foundational insights into light-matter interactions. While longitudinal drag has been extensively characterized, transverse drag, where the medium moves perpendicular to the light's propagation, is subtler and requires advanced techniques for detection. In this work, we experimentally investigate transverse drag in a highly dispersive slow-light medium using non-degenerate Zeeman electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in rubidium vapor. By systematically comparing configurations where the light beam and the medium serve as the moving frame, we leverage Galilean invariance to analyze transverse light-drag in this optical context. Thus, we provide a platform for future tests of fundamental principles on strong experimental grounds, which offers promising applications in precision velocimetry, accelerometry, quantum information, and light storage technologies.
The Fresnel-Fizeau effect of transverse drag, in which the trajectory of a light beam changes due to the transverse motion of the optical medium, is usually extremely small and hard to detect. We observe transverse drag in a moving hot-vapor cell, utilizing slow light due to electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). The drag effect is enhanced by a factor 3.6 × 10 5 , corresponding to the ratio between the light speed in vacuum and the group velocity under EIT conditions. We study the contribution of the thermal atomic motion, which is much faster than the mean medium velocity, and identify the regime where its effect on the transverse drag is negligible.