Controlling photons using electromagnetically induced transparency

It is well known that a dielectric medium can be used to manipulate properties of light pulses. However, optical absorption limits the extent of possible control: this is especially important for weak light pulses. Absorption in an opaque medium can be eliminated via quantum mechanical interference,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inNature (London) Vol. 413; no. 6853; pp. 273 - 276
Main Authors Imamo lu, A, Lukin, M. D
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Nature Publishing 20.09.2001
Nature Publishing Group
Subjects
Absorption
Atoms & subatomic particles
Electromagnetism
Exact sciences and technology
Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications)
Light
Nonlinear optics
Optics
Physics
Quantum description of interaction of light and matter; related experiments
Quantum optics
Theoretical study
Quantum optics
Electromagnetically induced transparency
Radiation matter interactions
Nonlinear optics
Optical absorption
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Summary:It is well known that a dielectric medium can be used to manipulate properties of light pulses. However, optical absorption limits the extent of possible control: this is especially important for weak light pulses. Absorption in an opaque medium can be eliminated via quantum mechanical interference, an effect known as electromagnetically induced transparency. Theoretical and experimental work has demonstrated that this phenomenon can be used to slow down light pulses dramatically, or even bring them to a complete halt. Interactions between photons in such an atomic medium can be many orders of magnitude stronger than in conventional optical materials.
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ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/35095000