Phase-controlled pulse propagation in media with cross coupling of electric and magnetic probe field component

Light propagation is discussed in media with a cross coupling of the electric and magnetic component of an applied probe field. We derive the wave equations for a probe pulse propagating through such a medium and solve them analytically in Fourier space using the slowly varying envelope approximation. Our analysis reveals the influence of the different medium response coefficients on the propagation dynamics. We apply these results to a specific example system in which cross couplings are induced in an atomic medium by additional control fields. We show that the cross couplings render the propagation dynamics sensitive to the relative phase of the additional fields, and this phase dependence enables one to control the pulse during its propagation through the medium. Our results demonstrate that the magnetic field component of a probe beam can crucially influence the system dynamics already at experimentally accessible parameter ranges in dilute vapors.