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Light speed reduction to 17 m/s in an ultracold atomic gas.

Author(s) : HAU L. V., HARRIS S. E., DUTTON Z., BEHROOZI C. H.

Type of article: Article

Summary

Here is reported an experimental demonstration of electromagnetically induced transparency in an ultracold gas of sodium atoms, in which the optical pulses propagate at twenty million times slower than the speed of light in a vacuum. At nanokelvin temperatures, the variation of refractive index with probe frequency can be made very steep. In conjunction with the high atomic density, this results in the exceptionally low light speeds observed. The system shows exceptionally large optical nonalinearities, which are of potential fundamental and technological interest for quantum optics.

Details

  • Original title: Light speed reduction to 17 m/s in an ultracold atomic gas.
  • Record ID : 2000-0003
  • Languages: English
  • Source: Nature - vol. 397 - n. 6720
  • Publication date: 1999/02/18
  • Document available for consultation in the library of the IIR headquarters only.

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