Quasisimultons in Thermal Atomic Vapors

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

doi:10.1103/physrevlett.123.243604

Quasisimultons in Thermal Atomic Vapors

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

Authors

Thomas P. Ogden

K. A. Whittaker

J. Keaveney

Dr Steven Wrathmall s.a.wrathmall@durham.ac.uk
Assistant Professor

Professor Stuart Adams c.s.adams@durham.ac.uk
Professor

Dr Robert Potvliege r.m.potvliege@durham.ac.uk
Associate Professor

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

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Copyright Statement
Reprinted with permission from the American Physical Society: Ogden, Thomas P., Whittaker, K. A., Keaveney, J., Wrathmall, S. A., Adams, C. S. & Potvliege, R. M. (2019). Quasisimultons in Thermal Atomic Vapors. Physical Review Letters 123(24): 243604 © 2019 by the American Physical Society. Readers may view, browse, and/or download material for temporary copying purposes only, provided these uses are for noncommercial personal purposes. Except as provided by law, this material may not be further reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, adapted, performed, displayed, published, or sold in whole or part, without prior written permission from the American Physical Society.