An exact solution of the slow-light problem

Abstract

We investigate propagation of a slow-light soliton in atomic vapors and Bose-Einstein condensates described by the nonlinear Lambda-model. We show that the group velocity of the soliton monotonically decreases with the intensity of the controlling laser field, which decays exponentially after the laser is switched off. The shock wave of the vanishing controlling field overtakes the slow soliton and stops it, while the optical information is recorded in the medium in the form of spatially localized polarization. We find an explicit exact solution describing the whole process within the slowly varying amplitude and phase approximation. Our results point to the possibility of addressing spatially localized memory formations and moving these memory bits along the medium in a controllable fashion.