Nonlocal nonlinear optics in cold Rydberg gases

We present an analytical theory for the nonlinear optical response of a strongly interacting Rydberg gas under conditions of electromagnetically induced transparency. Simple formulas for the third-order optical susceptibility are derived and shown to be in excellent agreement with recent experiments...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2011-10, Vol.107 (15), p.153001-153001, Article 153001
Main Authors: Sevinçli, S, Henkel, N, Ates, C, Pohl, T
Format: Article
Language:English
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We present an analytical theory for the nonlinear optical response of a strongly interacting Rydberg gas under conditions of electromagnetically induced transparency. Simple formulas for the third-order optical susceptibility are derived and shown to be in excellent agreement with recent experiments. The obtained expressions reveal strong nonlinearities, which in addition are of highly nonlocal character. This property together with the enormous strength of the Rydberg-induced nonlinearities is shown to yield a unique laboratory platform for nonlinear wave phenomena, such as collapse-arrested modulational instabilities in a self-defocusing medium.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.107.153001