Geometric phases in self-induced transparency

Abstract

We consider the geometric phases arising in the lossless propagation of light pulses through a medium composed of near resonant two-level atoms. A reformulation of the coupled Maxwell-Schroedinger equations allows us to construct conservation laws in a general context. There exist periodic solutions of these equations which lead to the possibility of cyclical evolution of the state vector and the appearance of a geometric phase. We first show that if the ground state is the initial state of the system, then it acquires a geometric phase after the passage of the soliton pulses of McCall and Hahn. More generally if the initial state is a superposition of the two levels, continuous pulse trains can propagate without appreciable loss. We also find in this case that the state vector develops a geometric phase provided the parameters take on the particular values required for cyclical evolution. In both cases we exhibit the geometric character of the calculated phases by showing that they equal half the solid angle subtended by a closed curve traced by the Bloch, vector on the Bloch sphere. We verify a recent assertion of Anandan and Aharonov that the energy uncertainty in the state is directly related to the speed at which the tip of the Bloch vector moves along the curve on the Bloch sphere (or in more general terms the energy uncertainty is related to the speed in the projective Hilbert space).