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Abstract
Electromagnetically induced transparency allows light transmission through dense atomic media by means of quantum interference1. Media with electromagnetically induced transparency have very interesting properties, such as extremely slow group velocities2,3,4. Quasiparticles, the so-called dark polaritons, which are mixtures of a photonic and an atomic contribution5, are associated with slow light propagation. Here, we demonstrate that these excitations behave as particles with a non-zero magnetic moment, which is in clear contrast to the properties of a free photon. It is found that light passing through a rubidium gas cell, under the conditions of electromagnetically induced transparency, is deflected by a small magnetic field gradient. The deflection angle is proportional to the optical propagation time through the cell. The beam deflection observed can be understood by assuming that dark-state polaritons have an effective magnetic moment. Our experiment can be described in terms of a Stern–Gerlach experiment for the polaritons.Cite this article
Karpa, L., Weitz, M. A Stern–Gerlach experiment for slow light. Nature Phys 2, 332–335 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys284 