Propagation of a probe pulse inside a Bose-Einstein condensate under conditions of electromagnetically induced transparency

TL;DR

This paper derives and solves a PDE describing how a weak probe pulse propagates through a Bose-Einstein condensate under electromagnetically induced transparency, revealing effects like stopping and releasing the pulse.

Contribution

It introduces a new PDE model for probe pulse dynamics in BECs under EIT and provides solutions illustrating pulse stopping and release mechanisms.

Findings

Pulse propagation is significantly affected by the condensate wave function evolution.

The model captures the process of stopping and releasing the probe pulse.

The PDE is valid for weak probe pulses in a three-level BEC system.

Abstract

We obtain a partial differential equation for a pulse travelling inside a Bose-Einstein condensate under conditions of electromagnetically induced transparency. The equation is valid for a weak probe pulse. We solve the equation for the case of a three-level BEC in $\Lambda$ configuration with one of its ground state spatial profiles initially constant. The solution characterizes, in detail, the effect that the evolution of the condensate wave function has on pulse propagation, including the process of stopping and releasing it.