Relaxation processes in slow light: the role of the atomic momentum

We investigate theoretically the phenomenon of slow light in a cold sample of open three-level atoms interacting with the light fields in the Lambda configuration. We examine the role of the atomic momentum in the slow light propagation: we solved the Maxwell-Bloch equations including the atomic momentum, and determined how the light forces acting on the atoms modify the probe pulse transmission and the group velocity. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.