Seminarium Optyczne

Atomic coherence can be used to dramatically modify the optical properties of atomic ensembles. By adequately illuminating a gas of trapped atoms, absorption in a particular wavelength can be suppressed and giant nonlinear optical responses can be achieved. This opens the door to the experimental demonstration of exciting nonlinear optical phenomena like the generation of new states of light with mechanical properties analogous to quantum liquids, including surface tension, vortex generation and super-fluidity. This theory on the "liquid of light" was developed by prof. Humberto Michinel at the University of Vigo in Spain and it was included in the 2002 "TOP-10" list of physics discoveries ellaborated by the American Institute of Physics.