Controlled Displacement of Stored Light at Room Temperature

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the controlled spatial translation of stored light at room temperature, utilizing an interferometric scheme to measure translation speed, and explores applications in high-sensitivity velocity sensing beyond quantum communication.

Contribution

It introduces a method for translating stored optical pulses at room temperature and measures their speed, expanding quantum memory applications to sensing technologies.

Findings

Stored light can be spatially displaced over one wavelength at room temperature.

Interferometric measurement enables precise speed determination of the translated light.

Potential for high-sensitivity velocity sensing using quantum memory techniques.

Abstract

We report the demonstration of spatially translating a stored optical pulse at room temperature over distances exceeding one optical wavelength. By implementing an interferometric scheme, we further measure the average speed of this linear translation, thus harnessing a stopped-light experiment for a sensing application. This work extends the use of quantum memories beyond quantum communication and information contexts, opening a pathway to novel methods of velocity measurements with high sensitivity.