Abstract
Analysis indicates that tunable spin-orbit coupling (SOC) can be introduced into the paraxial Schr\odinger-type equation for a spinor image traveling through a rotating electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) medium. As a fundamental example, we show that, due to a radial gradient of large group refractive index, the SOC can lead to spatial separation of the oppositely oriented spinor states in the probe image, mimicking the fine-structure splitting of a spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ quantum harmonic oscillator described by the Pauli equation. Such a result enables a direct manipulation and visualization of spin-orbit physics by all-optical means based on EIT slow-light media. Possible experimental implementations of our model with ultracold atoms are discussed.
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