Quasisimultons in Thermal Atomic Vapors

Ogden, Thomas P.; Whittaker, K. A.; Keaveney, J.; Wrathmall, S. A.; Adams, C. S.; Potvliege, R. M.

Abstract

The propagation of two-color laser fields through optically thick atomic ensembles is studied. We demonstrate how the interaction between these two fields spawns the formation of copropagating, two-color solitonlike pulses akin to the simultons found by Konopnicki and Eberly [Phys. Rev. A 24, 2567 (1981)]. For the particular case of thermal Rb atoms exposed to a combination of a weak cw laser field resonant on the D1 transition and a strong sub-ns laser pulse resonant on the D2 transition, simulton formation is initiated by an interplay between the 5s1=2 − 5p1=2 and 5s1=2 − 5p3=2 coherences. The interplay amplifies the D1 field at the arrival of the D2 pulse, producing a sech-squared pulse with a length of less than 10 μm. This amplification is demonstrated in a time-resolved measurement of the light transmitted through a thin thermal cell. We find good agreement between experiment and a model that includes the hyperfine structure of the relevant levels. With the addition of Rydberg dressing, quasisimultons may offer interesting prospects for strong photon-photon interactions in a robust environment.

Citation

Ogden, T. P., Whittaker, K., Keaveney, J., Wrathmall, S., Adams, C., & Potvliege, R. (2019). Quasisimultons in Thermal Atomic Vapors. Physical Review Letters, 123(24), Article 243604. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.123.243604

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Dec 12, 2019
• Publication Date: Dec 13, 2019
• Deposit Date: Jan 6, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 7, 2020
• Journal: Physical Review Letters
• Print ISSN: 0031-9007
• Electronic ISSN: 1079-7114
• Publisher: American Physical Society
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 123
• Issue: 24
• Article Number: 243604
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.123.243604
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1274622