Storage and retrieval of Airy light wave packets in a coherent atomic system

Abstract

We propose a scheme to realize the storage and retrieval of Airy light wave packets in a $\ensuremath{\Lambda}$-type three-level atomic gas via electromagnetically induced transparency. We first show that (1 + 1)-dimensional Airy light wave packets with very slow propagating velocity and extremely low generation power can be stored and retrieved by switching off and on a control field. We then demonstrate that ultraslow and ultraweak (3 + 1)-dimensional light wave packets, by combining a spatial Bessel or Airy beam with an Airy temporal profile, can also be generated, stored, and retrieved in a controllable way. Because the Airy light wave packets obtained can withstand both diffraction and dispersion in a linear propagation regime, their storage and retrieval are more desirable and promising for quantum information processing in comparison with other types of light wave packets.