All-Optical Control of Birefringence in a Cold Atomic Ensemble

Abstract

We demonstrate all-optical control of birefringence in a cold atomic cloud of ytterbium. By optically dressing the excited $^{3}\mathrm{P}_1$ state via an off-resonant coupling to the $^{3}\mathrm{D}_1$ level, we induce polarization-dependent light shifts of the Zeeman sublevels, resulting in a tunable polarization-dependent refractive index. For a circularly polarized dressing beam, we observe a rotation of the probe linear polarization, characteristic of the Faraday effect, in the absence of any magnetic field. In addition, for a linearly polarized dressing beam, the probe acquires ellipticity without rotation, corresponding to linear birefringence. More generally, the polarization of the dressing beam controls the axis of rotation of the probe polarization on the Poincaré sphere. Our results establish cold atoms as a versatile platform for engineering and controlling light-induced birefringence and open new perspectives for the fast and reconfigurable control of optical response of resonant media.