Abstract
We present a scheme for eliminating the optical diffraction of slow light in a thermal atomic medium of electromagnetically induced transparency. Nondiffraction is achieved for an arbitrary paraxial image by manipulating the susceptibility in momentum space, in contrast to the common approach, which employs guidance of specific modes by manipulating the susceptibility in real space. For negative two-photon detuning, the moving atoms drag the transverse momentum components unequally, resulting in a Doppler trapping of light by atoms in two dimensions.
- Received 1 July 2008
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.043601
©2009 American Physical Society
Viewpoint
Staying focused
Published 26 January 2009
The blurring effects of diffraction pose an obstacle to transmitting an image with all-optical technology. A method to reduce diffraction that takes advantage of the thermal motion of atoms could prove a way to keep images sharp.
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