Measuring the group velocity dispersion in near resonant hot atomic vapors

Abstract

Group velocity dispersion (GVD) in near-resonant hot atomic vapors is difficult to measure with standard pulse broadening or interferometric techniques, as absorption, pulse distortion and nonlinearities strongly affect the probe and reduce the signal-to-noise ratio. We introduce a simpler method using a continuous-wave laser with weak phase modulation and a slow photodetector, directly inspired by Bragg-like spectroscopy in fluids of light. During propagation, the red and blue-detuned sidebands accumulate different dispersive phase shifts, leading to oscillations in the transmitted modulation contrast as the modulation frequency is scanned. Vanishing contrast at well-defined frequencies directly yields the GVD. We apply this technique to hot rubidium vapors and observe the strong frequency dependence of the GVD across a broad detuning range of the D2 line at different temperatures.