Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:quant-ph/0304192

Stored light and released fiction

Evgeny B. Alexandrov, Valerii S Zapasskii

Published Apr 29, 2003• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

It is shown that the interpretation of the experimental results reported in the publication Storage of Light in Atomic Vapor" by D.F.Phillips et al., Phys. Rev.Lett. 86, 783 (2001) is incorrect. The experimental observation of this paper can be consistently explained in the framework of standard concepts of the physics of optical pumping and have nothing to do with "storage of light'', or "dynamic reduction of the group velocity'', or "light pulse compression''.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.quant-ph/0304192

Related papers

A fairy tale of stopped light

Evgenii B. Aleksandrov, Valerii S Zapasskii

It is shown that the sensational interpretation of the experiments described in the paper Storage of light in atomic vapor by Phillips D F et al. Phys. Rev. Lett., 2001, v. 76, p. 783 is erroneous. The observations made in this work are easily explained in the framework of standard concepts of the light-induced anisotropy of an ensemble of atoms amenable to optical orientation and alignment. The response of the atomic medium detected by Phillips et al. has nothing to do with the authors' claims about 'storage of light', 'dynamic reduction of the group velocity of light', or 'compression of the light pulse'. This paper is an extended version of our critical comment rejected by Physical Review Letters.

Physics-Uspekhi•Oct 31, 2004•16 citations

Storage of Light in Atomic Vapor

David F. Phillips, A. Fleischhauer, A. Mair +2 more

We report an experiment in which a light pulse is effectively decelerated and trapped in a vapor of Rb atoms, stored for a controlled period of time, and then released on demand. We accomplish this "storage of light" by dynamically reducing the group velocity of the light pulse to zero, so that the coherent excitation of the light is reversibly mapped into a Zeeman (spin) coherence of the Rb vapor.

arXiv:quant-ph/0012138•Physical Review Letters•Jan 29, 2001•2,041 citations

Storage and retrieval of light pulses in atomic media with “slow” and “fast” light

A. Lezama, A. M. Akulshin, Andrei I. Sidorov +1 more

We report experimental evidence that light storage, understood as the controlled release of a light pulse by an atomic sample dependent on the past presence of a writing pulse, is not restricted to small-group-velocity media but can also occur in a negative-group-velocity medium. We present a numerical modeling in close agreement with our observations and a simple physical picture applicable to light storage experiments in both ``slow'' and ``fast'' light media.

arXiv:physics/0506199•Physical Review A•Mar 3, 2006•46 citations

Storage and retrieval of light pulses in 'slow' and 'fast' light

A. M. Akulshin, A. Lezama, Andrei I. Sidorov +2 more

We have experimentally demonstrated that the storage of light can occur in a coherent atomic medium with an associated negative group velocity. Retrieved optical pulses can only have exponentially decaying slope.

•Jan 1, 2005•0 citations

Resonance Beating of Light Stored Using Atomic Spinor Polaritons

Leon Karpa, Frank Vewinger, Martin Weitz

We investigate the storage of light in atomic rubidium vapor using a multilevel-tripod scheme. In the system, two collective dark polariton modes exist, forming an effective spinor quasiparticle. Storage of light is performed by dynamically reducing the optical group velocity to zero. After releasing the stored pulse, a beating of the two reaccelerated optical modes is monitored. The observed beating signal oscillates at an atomic transition frequency, opening the way to novel quantum limited measurements of atomic resonance frequencies and quantum switches.

arXiv:0807.3853•Physical Review Letters•Oct 24, 2008•62 citations

Optical Pumping : Experiment and Theory Revisited

Zotin K.-H. Chu

The objective of this paper is to share our enthusiasm for optical pumping experiments and to encourage their use in researches on practical physics. The experimental technique has been well developed and the apparatus sophisticated, but, by paying attention to a few details, reliable operation can be repeated. Some theoretical principles for optical pumping are also introduced and they can be demonstrated experimentally.

arXiv:0810.2579•Oct 15, 2008•0 citations
It is shown that the interpretation of the experimental results reported in the publication Storage of Light in Atomic Vapor" by D.F.Phillips et al., Phys. Rev.Lett. 86, 783 (2001) is incorrect. The experimental observation of this paper can be consistently explained in the framework of standard concepts of the physics of optical pumping and have nothing to do with "storage of light'', or "dynamic reduction of the group velocity'', or "light pulse compression''.
It is shown that the sensational interpretation of the experiments described in the paper Storage of light in atomic vapor by Phillips D F et al. Phys. Rev. Lett., 2001, v. 76, p. 783 is erroneous. The observations made in this work are easily explained in the framework of standard concepts of the light-induced anisotropy of an ensemble of atoms amenable to optical orientation and alignment. The response of the atomic medium detected by Phillips et al. has nothing to do with the authors' claims about 'storage of light', 'dynamic reduction of the group velocity of light', or 'compression of the light pulse'. This paper is an extended version of our critical comment rejected by Physical Review Letters.
We investigate the storage of light in atomic rubidium vapor using a multilevel-tripod scheme. In the system, two collective dark polariton modes exist, forming an effective spinor quasiparticle. Storage of light is performed by dynamically reducing the optical group velocity to zero. After releasing the stored pulse, a beating of the two reaccelerated optical modes is monitored. The observed beating signal oscillates at an atomic transition frequency, opening the way to novel quantum limited measurements of atomic resonance frequencies and quantum switches.