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  • Letter
  • Open Access

Inhomogeneous mass trap for dark-state polaritons in atomic media

Ding-An Chen1, Kai-You Huang1, Chun-Yen Hsu1,2,3, Meng-Cheng Xie2,3, Ite A. Yu2,3, and Wen-Te Liao1,3,4,5,*

  • *Contact author: wente.liao@g.ncu.edu.tw
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Phys. Rev. Research 8, L032006 – Published 15 July, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/g83q-29c9

Abstract

The generation of a trapping potential for dark-state polaritons in a two-dimensional electromagnetically induced transparency system is theoretically studied. We show that such a trap can arise from a spatially inhomogeneous effective mass of the dark-state polariton. Because this mass inhomogeneity can be engineered by tuning the parameters of the control fields, the motion, spatial profile, and coherent behavior of bound dark-state spatial modes can be tailored accordingly. Our results enable spatial controls of optical information and provide a possible route toward realizing Bose-Einstein condensation of dark-state polaritons in a trapping potential.

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Phys. Rev. Research 8, L032006– Published 15 July, 2026
  • Received 18 March 2026
  • Accepted 16 June 2026
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

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