Diffusion and self-similarity of stored light in vapor

The storage of light using electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) has become a well-known technique, with an obvious prospect for future quantum information systems. Utilizing this unique light-matter interaction, the complex amplitude of a ´probe´ pulse can be stored onto the ground-state coherence of room-temperature atomic ensemble and can be retrieved after a controllable delay. The storage fidelity is limited by decay mechanisms of the ground-state coherence. This paper presents the study of the spatial behavior of two- and three-dimensional probe fields, under the influence of the thermal atomic diffusion.