Coherent control of light transport in a dense and disordered atomic ensemble

Light transport in a dense and disordered cold atomic ensemble, where the cooperation of atomic dipoles essentially modifies their coupling with the radiation modes, offers an alternative approach to light-matter interfacing protocols. Here, we show how the cooperativity and quasi-static dipole interaction affect the process of light propagation under the conditions of electromagnetically-induced transparency (EIT). We perform comparative analysis of the self-consistent approach with ab-initio microscopic calculations and emphasize the role of the interatomic interaction in the dipoles dynamics. Our results show that in such a dense and strongly disordered system the EIT-based light storage protocol stays relatively insensitive to configuration variations and can be obtained with essentially less atoms than it is normally needed for dilute configurations.

Coherent control of diffuse light dynamics in an ultracold atomic gas

We show that coherent multiple light scattering, or diffuse light propagation, in a disordered atomic medium, prepared at ultra-low temperatures, can be be effectively delayed in the presence of a strong control field initiating a stimulated Raman process. On a relatively short time scale, when the atomic system can preserve its configuration and effects of atomic motion can be ignored, the scattered signal pulse, diffusely propagating via multiple coherent scattering through the medium, can be stored in the spin subsystem through its stimulated Raman-type conversion into spin coherence. We demonstrate how this mechanism, potentially interesting for developing quantum memories, would work for the example of a coherent light pulse propagating through an alkali-metal atomic vapor under typical conditions attainable in experiments with ultracold atoms.