Subluminal and superluminal light pulse propagation under an external magnetic field in a vee-type three-level atomic medium

Abstract

In this work, we investigate subluminal and superluminal light propagation in a vee-type three-level atomic medium under an external magnetic field. The dispersion and absorption behaviors are studied for the cases of absence and presence of a magnetic field. It is found that under an electromagnetically induced transparency condition, the light pulse can be switched between subluminal and superluminal propagation by ON-OFF switching of the magnetic field. Finally, the transient response of the medium is discussed, which shows that the considered scheme has potential applications in magneto-optic switching devices.