Ultra-low-threshold optical pattern formation in a cold atomic vapor

The study of pattern formation in nonlinear optical systems has provided new insight into a wide variety of phenomena such as fundamental many-body physics, optical soliton formation, nonlinear lensing, and transverse optical pattern formation [1]. The generation of transverse optical patterns in cold atomic vapors is of particular interest in condensed matter physics because the resulting multimode optical fields act back on the atoms and create self-organized density gratings of atoms [2]. The formation of these density gratings enhances the nonlinear response of the system, which leads to lower threshold input powers required for pattern formation. Achieving sufficiently low threshold powers would make optical pattern formation in cold atomic systems relevant to creating quantum networks and performing weak measurements [3]. © 2013 IEEE.