Spatially Dependent Electromagnetically Induced Transparency

TLDR

Recent progress in structured light generation and detection offers high‑capacity optical storage and quantum technologies, yet conventional EIT systems lack phase sensitivity. The study measures structured light transmission through cold rubidium atoms to observe EIT regions controlled by the light’s phase profile. They generate a probe beam with azimuthally varying phase and polarization via q plates, using its circular polarization components as probe and control fields for an EIT transition in cold rubidium atoms. They observe azimuthally modulated absorption and phase‑dependent transparency, where a weak transverse magnetic field closes EIT transitions to create phase‑dependent dark states, confirming the measurements.

Abstract

Recent years have seen vast progress in the generation and detection of structured light, with potential applications in high capacity optical data storage and continuous variable quantum technologies. Here we measure the transmission of structured light through cold rubidium atoms and observe regions of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT), using the phase profile as control parameter for the atomic opacity. With q plates we generate a probe beam with azimuthally varying phase and polarization structure, and its right and left circular polarization components provide the probe and control of an EIT transition. We observe an azimuthal modulation of the absorption profile that is dictated by the phase and polarization structure of the probe laser. Conventional EIT systems do not exhibit phase sensitivity. We show, however, that a weak transverse magnetic field closes the EIT transitions, thereby generating phase-dependent dark states which in turn lead to phase-dependent transparency, in agreement with our measurements.