Storage and retrieval of light pulses at moderate powers

We investigate whether it is possible to store and retrieve an intense probe pulse using a medium that can be modeled as a set of atoms with the relevant energy levels in Λ configuration. We demonstrate that it is indeed possible to store and retrieve the probe pulses that are not necessarily weak. We find that the retrieved pulse remains a replica of the original pulse, although there is overall broadening and loss of the intensity. The loss of intensity can be understood in terms of the dependence of absorption on the intensity of the probe. Our calculations include the dynamics of the control field, which becomes especially important as the intensity of the probe pulse increases. We use the adiabatic theory of Grobe et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 73, 3183 (1994)] to understand our numerical results on the storage and retrieval of light pulses at moderate powers.