Enhancing capacity of coherent optical information storage and transfer in a Bose-Einstein condensate

Abstract

The coherent optical information storage capacity of an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate is examined. The theory of slow light propagation in atomic clouds is generalized to the short-pulse regime by taking into account group velocity dispersion. It is shown that the number of stored pulses in the condensate can be optimized for a particular coupling laser power, temperature, and interatomic interaction strength. Analytical results are derived for a semi-ideal model of the condensate using the effective uniform density zone approximation. Detailed numerical simulations are also performed. It is found that the axial density profile of the condensate protects the pulse against group velocity dispersion. Furthermore, taking into account the finite radial size of the condensate, multimode light propagation in an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate is investigated. The number of modes that can be supported by a condensate is found. The single-mode condition is determined as a function of experimentally accessible parameters including trap size, temperature, condensate number density, and scattering length. Quantum coherent atom-light interaction schemes are proposed for enhancing multimode light propagation effects.