Theory of storage and retrieval of intense-broadband pulses at room temperature: analytical and numerical solutions

TL;DR

This paper provides analytical and numerical insights into the storage and retrieval of intense broadband pulses in atomic media at room temperature, accounting for Doppler broadening, detuning, and non-ideal effects.

Contribution

It introduces an analytical inverse scattering solution for intense broadband pulse storage in a Lambda system, including effects of Doppler broadening, detuning, and spontaneous emission.

Findings

Pulse area determines spin wave location within the medium.

Analytical solutions match numerical simulations under ideal conditions.

Non-ideal effects like finite pulse length and spontaneous emission are analyzed.

Abstract

We analyze the storage and retrieval of intense-broadband pulses with the added effects of Doppler broadening and detuning in a $\Lambda$ configuration. We compute analytical solutions via the inverse scattering technique and show how the signal field is transferred to a spin-wave in the atomic medium and later retrieved by the interaction of a control pulse. Due to the intensity of the pulses, the pulse area (as defined for self-induced transparency) plays a key role in the interaction, as it determines the location of the spin wave within the medium. Additionally, we compare our results to non-ideal conditions by considering pulses of finite length and the effect of spontaneous emission.