Open Letter to the OSA Topical Meeting "Slow and Fast Light"

TL;DR

This paper questions the common interpretation of pulse delay in saturable absorbers as 'slow light' and examines the historical understanding of the effect.

Contribution

It challenges the traditional view of slow light in saturable absorbers and highlights the need to reconsider the underlying mechanisms.

Findings

The trivial interpretation of pulse delay remains largely unchallenged.

Historical perspectives on saturable absorber effects are underappreciated.

The paper calls for a re-evaluation of the slow light concept in this context.

Abstract

The question is raised about whether the pulse delay in a saturable absorber has anything to do with the "slow light" and group velocity reduction. We also wonder why the 40-years-old trivial interpretation of the effect remains so far ignored.