Theory of storage and retrieval of intense-broadband pulses at room temperature: analytical and numerical solutions

Abstract

We analyze the storage and retrieval of intense-broadband pulses with the added effects of Doppler broadening and detuning in a $\Lambda$ configuration. We compute analytical solutions via the inverse scattering technique and show how the signal field is transferred to a spin-wave in the atomic medium and later retrieved by the interaction of a control pulse. Due to the intensity of the pulses, the pulse area (as defined for self-induced transparency) plays a key role in the interaction, as it determines the location of the spin wave within the medium. Additionally, we compare our results to non-ideal conditions by considering pulses of finite length and the effect of spontaneous emission.