Slow and Stored Light

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Slow and Stored Light

• OSA Latvian Student Chapter
• Linards Kalvans
• Riga, November 12, 2007

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logus. Tadel gaismu nama nesa ar maisiem iekša.
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Outline

• Introduction
• Slowing down the light
• Storing the light
• Possible applications and future research

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Phase and group velocities

• Phase velocity

v phase velocityc velocity of light in
vacuumn light refraction index in a given
medium

• Group velocity

vg group velocityl wavelength of lightdn/dl
light dispersion in a given medium
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Slowing Down the LightEIT Electromagnetically
Induced Transparency

• A three level lambda system

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Slowing Down the Light

• Limitations

g atom-field coupling coefficientN number
of atomsW Rabi frequencyg relaxation rate
of optical coherencesk the wave vectorL
the atomic vapor cell length
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Storing the Slowed Light

• The long (several km) light impulse is compressed
  to few mm
• The energy is transfered back and forth from the
  coupling to the probe field via atomic states
• If the coupling field is turned off the light is
  stored entirely in the atomic states.

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Experimental results
I. Novikova, M. Klein, D.F. Phillips and R.L.
Walsworth Proceedings of SPIE 5735, 87-97 (2005)
Optimization of slow and stored light in atomic
vapor. I. Novikova, A.V. Gorshkov, D.F. Phillips,
Y. Xiao, M. Klein and R.L. Walsworth Proceedings
of SPIE 6482, 64820M1-64820M11 (2007)
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Direct View of the Compressed Pulse
The art of taming light ultra-slow and stopped
light, Zachary Dutton, Naomi S. Ginsberg,
Christopher Slowe, and Lene Vestergaard Hau,
Europhysics News (2004) Vol. 35 No. 2
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Manipulating the Stored Light
The Story Behind Stopped Light. R. Walsworth, S.
Yelin, and M. Lukin, Optics and Photonics News
13(5), 50 (May, 2002).
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Dark State Solitons Test of BEC Superfluidity
The art of taming light ultra-slow and stopped
light, Zachary Dutton, Naomi S. Ginsberg,
Christopher Slowe, and Lene Vestergaard Hau,
Europhysics News (2004) Vol. 35 No. 2
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References

• Web page of Roland Walsworths grouphttp//cfa-ww
  w.harvard.edu/Walsworth/
• Web page of Lene Vestergaard Haus
  Labhttp//www.seas.harvard.edu/haulab/
• The art of taming light ultra-slow and stopped
  light, Zachary Dutton et al., Europhysics News
  (2004) Vol. 35 No. 2http//www.europhysicsnews.co
  m/full/26/article1/article1.html

Presentation soon available at www.osa-latvia.lv