Quantum self-induced transparency in frequency gap media

Abstract

We study quantum effects of light propagation through an extended absorbing system of two-level atoms placed within a frequency gap medium (FGM). Apart from ordinary solitons and single particle impurity band states, the many-particle spectrum of the system contains massive pairs of confined gap excitations and their bound complexes - gap solitons. In addition, ``composite'' solitons are predicted as bound states of ordinary and gap solitons. Quantum gap and composite solitons propagate without dissipation, and should be associated with self-induced transparency pulses in a FGM.