Subwavelength Transportation of Light with Atomic Resonances

Abstract

We propose and investigate a new type of optical waveguide made by an array of atoms without involving conventional Bragg scattering or total internal reflection. A finite chain of atoms collectively coupled through their intrinsic resonance supports a propagating mode with minimal radiative loss when the array spacing $a$ is around 0.6$\lambda_0/2\pi$ where $\lambda_0$ is the wavelength of the nearly resonant optical transition. We find that the transportation is robust with respect to position fluctuation and remains possible when the atoms are placed on a circle. Our result paves the way to implement the subwavelength transportation of light in integrated optical circuits with cold atoms.