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Latin America Optics and Photonics Conference

Characterization of Transverse Light-Drag in Hot Atomic Vapors Using Zeeman EIT

E. Samuel Arroyo-Rivera, Long Nguyen, Robert W. Boyd

Published Jan 1, 2024• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Light undergoes drag when it travels through a moving medium. In this work, we study transverse drag between a moving light source and a stationary slow-light medium using non-degenerate Zeeman Electromagnetically Induced Transparency (EIT).
DOI
10.1364/laop.2024.w1b.3

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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.
Get PDF Email Share Share with Facebook Tweet This Post on reddit Share with LinkedIn Add to CiteULike Add to Mendeley Add to BibSonomy Get Citation Copy Citation Text F. Goldfarb, J. Ghosh, M. David, J. Ruggiero, T. Chanelière, J. -. Le Gouët, H. Gilles, R. Ghosh, and F. Bretenaker, "Electromagnetically Induced Transparency (EIT) and Slow Light in a 4He* Hot Atomic Vapor," in Slow and Fast Light, (Optica Publishing Group, 2008), paper SMA4. Export Citation BibTex Endnote (RIS) HTML Plain Text Citation alert Save article
A light beam normally incident upon an uniformly moving dielectric medium is, in general, subject to bendings due to a transverse Fresnel-Fizeau light drag effect. In most familiar dielectrics, the magnitude of this bending effect is very small and hard to detect. Yet, the effect can be dramatically enhanced in strongly dispersive media where slow group velocities in the m/s range have been recently observed taking advantage of the electromagnetically induced transparency effect. In addition to the usual downstream drag that takes place for positive group velocities, we discuss a significant anomalous upstream drag which is expected to occur for negative group velocities. Furthermore, for sufficiently fast speeds of the medium, higher-order dispersion terms are found to play an important role and to be responsible for light propagation along curved paths or the restoration of the time and space coherence of an incident noisy beam. The physics underlying this class of slow-light effects is thoroughly discussed.